Haven
by quiet-heart
Summary: He had known her for several years and she had always been, well, there. They had been mostly friends but occasionally lovers. What happens when they finally give in? Warning: if you don't approve of May-December relationships, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: okay, this idea has been batting around in my head for a bit and I decided to try and give it a run. As the summary said, if you don't approve of May-December relationships, don't read. Otherwise, enjoy. Quick note: I goofed; wasn't sure how many years H. had been with the Crime Lab so I went back and did a bit of revision. Sorry.  
_

**Chapter 1**

_Seven years ago:_

He first noticed her when she moved in. Being a cop he failed to miss very little, like the fact that she wore huge sunglasses and a head-scarf that covered quite a bit of her face. Plus the fact that she moved very carefully and deliberately. He deuced her to not be a Miami native because she wore a mock-neck turtleneck, jeans, and a long denim jacket in short-sleeve weather.

He gave her a polite nod, which she returned and watched as she tightened her folded arms across her chest even more. Everything about her fairly screamed that she wanted to be left alone and even though he was curious, he gave her her space. From what little he could see of her face, it looked swollen and sore, with bruising and redness around her jaw and lips. Yes, she obviously had her reasons for wanting her space.

He noticed she was polite to the movers and they left as quickly as they had arrived. A few days later, he spotted a man with a popular alarm company logo leaving the girl's condo, which was two doors down from his. He wondered why she would need an alarm system in a secure building like theirs, but then again, some people had their reasons and the girl obviously had hers.

Over the next few months he would see her sitting outside on her balcony, sunglasses on, either reading or watching the ocean and the view. He noticed the bruising and swelling was gradually going down. He also noticed she had brown hair and a slim build. Her skin was fair, like it hadn't seen much sun, and she was of medium height. Age-wise, he judged her to be in her early-to-mid twenties. She was also always alone.

One morning she spotted him and acknowledged him with a raise of her coffee cup. He did the same. No names were exchanged but he learned from his neighbours that her name was Sandra. No one knew anything else about her, like where she was from or if she had any family. In fact, if it weren't for occasionally passing her in the hallway, elevator, and seeing her on the balcony, he wouldn't even have noticed her.

One day he spotted her trying to make her way her door, trying to juggle a large load of groceries and her keys when she dropped her keys. Deciding this would be a good time to introduce himself, he picked up her keys and grabbed one of the grocery bags before she dropped it.

She gave him a look that he could only describe as a frightened deer and his protective instincts, never that far away, instantly went up a notch. He offered her a friendly, harmless smile. She seemed to relax a bit once she recognized him but he noticed she didn't drop her guard completely.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't bite. My name is Horatio."

"Sandra. You live two doors down from me, right?" she asked. There was a trace of an accent in her voice. It was faint, very faint, but it was there and he couldn't quite place it, try as he might.

"That's right. I saw you struggling a bit and figured you might need a bit of help," he said.

"Thank you," she said, accepting the keys he handed her.

She managed to get the door unlocked and then disengaged the alarm at the keypad, which was very close to the door. He followed her in and set her groceries on the island counter in her kitchen.

Her condo was a bit smaller than his but nicely furnished. A lot of her furnishings seemed to be from that Swedish store, IKEA. He recognized them from the catalogue his sister-in-law, Yelina Salas, had when he'd been at her place once.

What he did not fail to notice was the lack of any personal photos. He didn't see any photos that looked like family or friends, which seemed kind of odd.

He did spot a couple of framed movie posters, like _Masters of the Universe, Lord of the Rings, Lethal Weapon, Sixth Sense,_ and _Universal Soldier: The Return._ To his eye, they looked like originals, not from the video covers but from the theatre. He couldn't help but wonder where she'd found such treasures, especially since two of them, _Masters of the Universe_ and _Universal Soldier: The Return_, looked to be autographed. He had a feeling they were autographed by the stars themselves. Again he wondered.

"_Masters of the Universe_, hmm?" he commented, trying to make conversation. "Have you seen it?"

"Yes, I have. It's a good movie. The poster was a gift from a friend," she said. "Thank you for your help but I'm afraid I have to get ready to go out again." There was a firm finality in her tone of voice and Horatio acknowledged that as polite and friendly as he may seem, she wasn't quite comfortable around him. He decided to allow her that and nodded.

"No problem," he said, heading towards her door. Just before he shut it he said, "Sandra, if you're ever in trouble, don't hesitate to come and get me." He showed her his badge and said, "I'm a cop."

Her eyebrows shot up and she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

He nodded and shut the door behind him.

A few days later he went to his door to answer a knock and found Sandra standing there shyly. She held two cups of coffee in her hands, a brand he recognized as being gourmet and very good.

"Hi," she said. "I wanted to apologize for being a bit abrupt when you tried to help me a few days ago."

He smiled warmly and invited her in. She hesitantly stepped inside and he shut the door. He accepted the coffee she handed him and took a sip. Fresh and hot, just the way he liked it.

Now that he was a bit closer to her, he could see she bore some surgical scars on her face. They were thin and fading but they were there and they were recent. He wondered why she'd had facial surgery when she was already pretty to begin with.

When she noticed him studying her, she flushed. He smiled reassuringly. "This is appreciated," he said.

She nodded. "You said you were a cop," she said.

"That's right, Miami-Dade Crime Lab. I've also worked with the Bomb Squad and Homicide," he said.

"Do you know where I might find a good self-defence class?" she asked hesitantly.

He thought about that for a moment and said, "Let me talk to a friend; she may know." She nodded. "Were you attacked?" he asked carefully.

She hesitated, studying her coffee for a long moment. Horatio wondered if she was going to answer him. Then she spoke.

"It's a long story and a difficult one," she admitted. "I'm part of the Witness Protection Program and yes, I was attacked, but I'm alive and that's what matters."

"Or at least that's what you keep telling yourself," he said gently, sensing the pain and confusion underlying her voice.

She chuckled wryly and said, "Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself."

"Have you thought about taking counselling?" he asked.

"Where would I go? I mean, because of the Program, I'm not allowed to talk about what happened."

"I know someone you can talk to," he said. He went to his computer desk and pulled up a card from his Rolodex. Copying down the number on a scrap of paper, he handed it to her and said, "He's a cop counsellor and primarily helps cops but from time to time he will assist victims of crimes that involve discretion. He's good and he can be very tight-lipped." She studied the name and number. "Just tell his secretary Lieutenant Horatio Caine recommended you. I'm sure he'll be happy to help."

She nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Are you going to be okay?"

"In time, once the nightmares fade. Sometimes I wonder if they ever will."

"Sandra, I can honestly say that your nightmares will fade in time. Trust me, I have a few of my own."

"Bomb squad and Homicide, I guess you would."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **figured I'd get this chapter up and running while I still had the time (my son is on a bit of a growth spurt which means he's spending quite a bit of time napping, hence me having more time to write). Thanks for the reviews and I will try and keep up the progress.

**Chapter 2**

_Six years ago:_

"Hold up!" Horatio called, dashing for the elevator.

Sandra spotted him and quickly held the elevator door open, waiting for him. Once he was inside, she let the door shut, having already punched the button for their floor.

She studied her neighbour for a moment and then asked, "Bad day, huh?"

They had gotten to know each other over the past year. Sandra had gradually come out of her initial shyness and wariness around him and Horatio had discovered a friendly young woman who had, from what little she had revealed, gotten herself into a bad situation and been fortunate enough to live to tell about it. She lived a quiet life and was quite content to leave it that way, not being much of a party person or even a social butterfly.

She had been pleased for him when he'd been promoted to Lieutenant and he'd been just as pleased for her when she'd gotten a well-paying job at a high-end clothing boutique.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that she was in the Program, she wasn't permitted to talk about the Incident, as she referred to it, and he knew that if he tried to find out via investigating, he'd come up against a brick wall he wouldn't be able to budge. He could only hope that in time she would trust him enough to tell him about the Incident.

Now, he chuckled wryly, running his fingers through his already-mused hair. "And to top it off, I'm running late for a dinner engagement and I don't even know if I'll have time to press my suit, which I forgot to take to the dry cleaners the last time I wore it."

"How much time do you have?" she asked.

"Less than an hour and it's going to take about fifteen minutes to get to the Biltmore Hotel plus fifteen minutes to pick up my date," he said. "If she's on time, that is."

She grinned and said, "Tell you what; why don't you give me your suit and I'll steam it while you grab a shower. I've got a portable steamer at my place and it'll get any wrinkles out in no time. Shouldn't take more than ten minutes."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"I owe you one," he said as they got off the elevator on their floor.

"Don't worry about it. Just hand over the suit and go have your shower. Leave the door unlocked in case I finish before you finish your shower."

"Done," he said, unlocking the door to his place. He quickly got her the suit, a nice black one, and a white dress shirt. She quickly dashed to her place and had the garments steamed and ready in about ten minutes, just as she promised. When she entered Horatio's condo again, it was to find him wearing nothing but a towel and cursing, water dripping from his hair and chest.

Sandra's eyebrows shot up at the sight, as the towel barely went past his knees, leaving a lot very visible. For Sandra, what she was seeing was actually quite interesting. "Trouble?" she asked.

He looked up and said, "Yeah, my date decided to cancel on me at the last minute."

"Ouch," she said, wincing in sympathy. "Well, if it helps any, your suit is ready." She handed him the neatly steamed garment.

"Thanks," he said. He studied her for a moment and then, almost on impulse, said, "You doing anything tonight?"

"No, nothing in particular."

"Good. I hate these stupid events and hate going to them by myself even more. Care to join me?"

Her eyebrows shot up even more. "Ah, yeah, ah, sure. Why not? Might be fun," she managed to get out. "I can be ready in about ten minutes."

"Make it fifteen," he said, "Now that I don't have to pick up my other date, I can spare a few minutes."

She grinned and said, "I'll be ready." And with that, she took off.

Due to the fact that she had just come home from work, she was still wearing her make-up and her hair still looked half-way decent. So all she had to do was a quick touch-up of the eyes and hair, change the lip-stick to reflect the eyes, change the jewellery to something a bit flashier (a pair of rhinestone heart drop earrings and a matching bracelet did the trick), and change her clothes. She quickly slipped into a brightly-coloured cocktail dress with a halter neckline and knee-length flirty skirt (thank God she'd shaved her legs the day before and her toes looked pretty with their OPI _Strawberry Margarita _nail polish that matched her nails). The dress left her back bare but because she was small but firm, all she had to add was one of those adhesive backless bras for coverage and lift. Pretty silver sandal stilettos and a bit of perfume finished the look. Grabbing a small silver handbag, she threw her lipstick, some cash, and I.D. in the bag, along with her keys, and she dashed out the door with two minutes to spare.

The look on Horatio's face when he opened the door told her he approved of the transformation.

"Nice," he said, nodding in approval and smiling.

"Thank you," she replied.

"In that case, shall we?" he asked, offering his arm, which she accepted, smiling back. He locked the door and they headed down the elevator.

"Where exactly are we going and what exactly is happening, just so I have an idea of what I'm getting myself into?" she asked as she settled herself into his car.

"We are going to the Biltmore Hotel as part of a charity-slash-meet-and-greet of the Miami-Dade politicians and commissioners. Since I am now the head of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, I get stuck with attending these events as part of trying to increase the Lab's budget," Horatio said, making his way through the traffic towards the famous hotel, "or even just trying to get new equipment so we can continue being one step ahead of the bad guys."

Sandra nodded. "Sounds like fun, and trust me, that's sarcasm."

He chuckled. "Word of caution; when we get on the hotel elevator to go up to the ballroom, which is on the second floor, don't be too surprised if the elevator decides to go all the way up to the thirteenth floor."

Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"You're a pretty young woman and it's said that Thomas 'Fatty' Walsh likes to invite girls up to the thirteenth floor to play casino games," Horatio said.

"Okay," Sandra said, still a bit puzzled.

"Small problem; Fatty's been dead since nineteen-twenty-nine," he said, grinning at the shocked expression on her face. "He was a New York mobster who was killed on the thirteenth floor and it's said that he still hangs around. He's particularly fond of pretty women and more than one lady has found herself on the thirteenth floor when, in fact, the only way to access that floor is via a special key card."

"Oh boy," she said. "How can I tell if Mr. Walsh is around?" She was not to keen on the prospect of possibly meeting a ghost, even if he did like pretty girls.

"Rumour has it that the elevator gets cold and you can smell cigar smoke. Plus the fact that the elevator takes off on its own," he said. "But I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think Walsh is going to hang around too much tonight, not with the crowd being mostly cops."

"Hope so. I have enough ghosts of my own and I'd rather not run into another one, harmless or not," she said, shivering at the prospect.

"Understandable."

"Hey, I thought you were a man of science and here you are, telling me about a ghost!" she yelped.

He grinned. "I may be a man of science but even I have to admit the Biltmore Hotel raises the hair on the back of my neck."

"So, Mr. Big-Tough-Cop actually gets nervous about something besides bombs!" she teased.

He threw her a glance and said, "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a very interesting evening?"

"I don't know, why do you?" she asked innocently.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Wow! Thank you very much for the kind reviews and I shall attempt to keep you all hooked.

**Chapter 3**

The dinner engagement at the Biltmore Hotel had gone very well, at least according to Horatio and Sandra. She had been fortunate enough that she had not run into the hotel's famed ghost, Thomas "Fatty" Walsh, but from what she and Horatio had heard, a few other women had not been so lucky.

A few people had raised an eyebrow about the fact that Horatio had brought a much younger woman with him but his team, especially Calleigh Duquesne, had taken to her. Over the course of the night the two women had become friends, something Horatio suspected Sandra didn't have too many of.

When she was asked about her family, she had simply stated that she was a foster kid. He couldn't help but wonder how much of that was true and how much of that was the result of her being in the Program.

Sandra had proven to be a reasonable dancer and a charming companion that night and, despite her initial hesitation at being in such a large crowd, she later admitted she'd enjoyed herself.

"Is it because of the Program that you keep to yourself?" he asked her later that night as he drove towards home.

"Mostly, and mostly because of the Incident," she admitted. "It left some bad scars on me and I admit I'm still a bit self-conscious about them even though I've been told that they are barely visible."

"What kind of scars are we talking about?" he asked. Yes, it was a fishing expedition, he knew, but he was hoping she would answer.

"As a result of the Incident, I had to have facial surgery. Part of it was cosmetic but most of it was deemed necessary due to the damage that had been inflicted," she said.

_So her face took some serious damage_, he realized. _That explained the self-consciousness and the swelling and bruising I saw when she first came here. Damn._

_Approximately six months later:_

"So here I am, standing there with a bunch more of these dresses in my arms, my feet practically _killing _me, and the twit finally says, "Oh, I guess I'll take the first one." It was a good thing she didn't see my jaw dropping or the fact that I was two inches away from killing her. Couldn't she have figured that out an hour ago?" Sandra groaned.

Horatio chuckled. "Yes, some people will do that. They pay the price so they expect the service that goes with it," he said.

He and Sandra were in his living room and both were unwinding after what was a very long day for both of them. Sandra had progressively grown more comfortable with Horatio to the point he could honestly admit they were close friends. She still hadn't told him about all the details about the Incident and he began to wonder if she ever would. Maybe never, and if that was the case, then that was her right.

Sandra didn't know why she kept coming back to Horatio. The only reason she could fathom was that she felt comfortable and safe with him. Yes, he was considerably older than she was, about forty-five to her twenty-two, so she brushed the feeling off as him becoming like a father-figure or an uncle to her.

Or at least that's what she tried to tell herself.

The memory of that night when she'd seen him practically stark naked and dripping wet, that had remained firmly entrenched in her memory long afterwards and had created some very interesting dreams. They were dreams she flatly refused to acknowledge. After all, Horatio was a much older man and very much the gentleman. Why the heck would he want to get involved with a younger woman such as herself?

She shrugged the thought off as she took another sip of her drink, a brandy that she found to be quite pleasant, even if it did burn all the way down. She was trying to be careful of the alcohol because she could feel the bones in her face beginning to ache with that all-too-familiar ache that suggested the humidity was dropping and a storm was possibly on its way in.

Over the next hour, somehow the conversation gradually shifted to more personal topics. That was when she found herself talking about sex and personal relationships with him.

Mind you, she was working on her third glass of brandy in the last hour and a half…..

"I have yet to figure out what the big deal about sex is," she admitted. "First time around, it was _lousy_. Hurt like heck, was darned uncomfortable, and the guy turned out to be a bit of a dork."

"That bad, huh?" he asked. "You ever try again?"

"Life kinda got a bit busy after that," she admitted. "What about you?"

"Mmm, I am the firm believer that sex can be good and can be enjoyable but it takes two," he said. "I think, if you were given the opportunity and the right guy, you'd find out for yourself."

She chuckled wryly. "Somehow I don't think that's in my future right at the moment. Who wants to get hippy with a girl with my kind of scars?"

"Your scars aren't that noticeable," he said.

"Those are just the ones you can see. I've got a few you haven't seen and unless I take my shirt off, that ain't gonna happen any time soon," she shot back, grinning.

He just grinned at her and said, "Why not? You've seen me without my shirt on?" He grinned even wider when she went scarlet.

"That was an accident!" she yelped. "Besides, it wasn't my fault you decided to check your messages in nothing but a towel just as I came in the door with your suit!"

"You had pretty good timing though," he said, deliberately ragging her, even though he wasn't sure what he'd get out of it or why he was teasing her, except that he enjoyed it and that she gave back as good as she got.

"Okay, enough of this stuff for me, I'm afraid. I do not want to wind up drunk," she said, standing up. Or rather, she tried. It seemed that the alcohol had gone straight to her knees and she staggered as she made her way past Horatio….

And fell straight into his lap. Somehow she managed to not drop her glass but it took her a moment to realize where she was and where she was, was in a very compromising situation.

She froze.

"Sandra?" he asked gently, his hands on her waist.

"Um… sorry about that," she got out. "I'm not drunk, really, just a bit tipsy."

He grinned. "I can see that."

He was close, so close….

She smelled good and he'd been on his own for a bit. There had been nobody serious for quite a bit. And Sandra, well, she was younger than he was but…. It couldn't hurt, could it? Especially if it was just a once only thing?

He took her glass from her and set it on the coffee table beside him. Softly he asked, "Sandra?"

She looked at him, her face flushing and her pupils expanding. "We've got a good friendship," she said.

"Yes, we do," he said.

"But…" she hesitated. Good lord, did she dare? "Would you show me? Show me how it's supposed to be?" What the heck had gotten into her? It had to be the alcohol. It had to be. "I'm not asking for forever, just, just a moment. I promise."

"Are you sure?" he asked, reaching up to touch her face. His fingers found a faint scar near her jaw line. Had her jaw been fractured or broken at one point?

She ducked her head, blushing. He responded by tucking a finger under her chin and lifting her face up to meet his.

"Just a moment. That's all I'm asking," she whispered.

"Then let's make sure it's a moment to remember," he whispered back before kissing her.

_It's got to be the alcohol_, she thought hazily. _It has to be._ Then she forgot all about the alcohol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Horatio stirred as his ears caught the sound of someone moaning. As he woke up further, memories flooded him.

Sandra may have been young and inexperienced, but she was an eager, willing student and he had taught her everything he could. Now, nearly five hours later, she was moaning and whimpering in her sleep. Something was wrong.

Before he could wake her up and pull her from her nightmare, she bolted awake with a gasp. She nearly jumped out of the bed when he reached for her but attempted to calm down once she realized who he was and where she was.

"Hey," he said gently. "Nightmare?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "C'mere." He drew her against him and she willingly snuggled against his chest and shoulder. "You get the nightmares a lot?" he asked, stroking her skin.

"Every now and then. Mostly when the weather starts turning bad."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I can feel it in my bones. They ache when there's a storm coming on."

"You want some Tylenol?" he offered.

"Got any extra-strength?"

He smiled. "Hang on." He snagged his robe and headed for the bathroom and his medicine cabinet. When he came back with the Tylenol and a glass of water, it was to discover that Sandra had pulled on his shirt and was now standing by the window and watching the coming storm.

She accepted the Tylenol and water wit a smile of thanks and swallowed them. Sensing a need to be held, he put his arms around her and held her.

She wanted to tell him about everything; Chicago, the Del Walshes, the Fifth Street Gang, everything. She just didn't know if she could. Sure, she'd gone to see that counsellor that he'd recommended and she felt she was making progress but sometimes it felt like she wasn't, like tonight. That stupid nightmare, it always came back when she really didn't want it to.

"Sandra," he said gently. She looked up at him, confusion and a painful ache in her pretty brown eyes. "Talk to me," he coaxed.

"I, I don't. I don't know where to start," she admitted.

"Start with the nightmares."

"They're always the same," she said. "At first I used to get them a lot but they eased off. Now they only crop up when my bones hurt." She hesitated for a moment and then continued, trying to find the right words. "About two years ago I was on my way home from work one night when I passed a bar. It was part of my route so I didn't think anything of it. It's a rough bar and there's usually a lot of yelling and cussing but this time there was something else; a girl screaming." She chuckled wryly. "Naturally I went running. I found a girl about my age being assaulted by three butt-ugly looking thugs. I went after them with a pipe I'd grabbed and the girl got away. I didn't."

"How bad?" he asked.

"Bad. Broken jaw, broken cheekbone, broken nose, fractured orbital bone, skull fractures, busted wrist and collarbone, fractured forearm, couple of cracked ribs."

He groaned and rubbed her back in sympathy.

"It was a beat cop that found me. By the grace of God I managed to crawl out of that alleyway and get his attention. I don't remember. I remember their faces and I remember the girl but I don't remember too much afterwards. I remember someone calling to me, but I couldn't answer. And then after that things got fuzzy. Just lights, sounds, blurs, and a lot of pain and confusion." She closed her eyes at the memories. "It would take almost six hours before I could understand anything. I was told I would need surgery to repair my face. I had also sustained a fair number of fractures and bruises. Because of who attacked me, I was going to receive cosmetic surgery to protect me. I guess I was a bit more doped up than I thought because I managed to joke about them throwing in breast reduction surgery while they were at it." He grinned, letting her continue. "I guess they took me seriously because when I came out of the surgery and was finally coherent enough to understand what was going on, it turned out the breast surgery had been deemed as necessary after all; I was twenty and already a size G bust-wise."

His eyes went wide. _A size G and her small frame? Oh boy._ He had spotted the surgical scars on her breasts, faint thought they were, and had wondered about them.

"During the surgery they also discovered several cysts that might or might be cancerous. To play it safe, they removed all of the cysts and had them analyzed. Turns out they were cancerous. The surgery saved my life and my back and I was reduced to a more suitable size 34 C."

"And the attackers?"

"Once I was able to identify them, I realized just how much trouble I was in. The attackers were part of a very powerful gang known as the Fifth Street Gang. Between the girl I had rescued, and me, we were able to put several of them away for a very, very long time."

"And the girl?"

"Her family owns the building. As a way of thanking me, they paid for my surgery and gave me a rent-free life-long lease on the condo I live in now. They also paid for the furniture and a new wardrobe. They even provided me with a stipend until I could get a job and get back on my feet."

"Nice."

"Nice family."

"The nightmares?"

"Always the same. I'm being attacked but I can't see who and I can't see where the blows are coming from because it's always dark. I can't stop my attackers," she said. She burrowed her face in his chest and he tightened his arms around her. "I just want the nightmares to stop," she whimpered.

"I can't make the nightmares stop," he said, "but maybe, for a while, I can help you forget."

She smiled hesitantly and said, "I'd like that."

He smiled back and kissed her gently. One kiss lead to another and another and another and soon the storm outside was forgotten, along with her nightmares. At least for a while.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** so I'm on a bit of a roll here, not that I think anyone objects. Thank you all kindly for the very nice reviews. This one takes place shortly after _MIA/NYC Non-Stop_ and the song below is Trisha Yearwood's _Walkaway Joe._

**Chapter 5**

_Five years ago:_

Horatio was tired but satisfied. He was arriving home after a long, rather abrupt, trip to New York City where he had just helped capture and arrest Davey Penrod and Kevin Dowell for the murders of the Spelman and Hanover family members. He had met and made a friend in Detective Mac Taylor, a man he sensed was very much like him in a lot of ways.

All he had to do now was let Laura Spelman know she was safe, as he promised her he would.

He wondered how Sandra was doing. After their little moment about six months ago he was worried things might get awkward between them but that had not proven to be the case. Rather, they had managed to retain their friendship, mostly due to their determination to hold on to that friendship. Their one night together had been exactly that; one night only and one very special night.

Every now and then one of them would join the other for dinner or coffee and just chat. She proved to be good company and had a refreshing sense of humour as well as a refreshing out-look on things. He was trying to coax her into trying to date someone but so far her general excuse had been that there hadn't been anyone worth capturing her attention. He suspected she was still healing emotionally. He hoped she would find someone special because he felt she deserved a chance to be happy.

As he entered the building, he glanced at his watch. Sandra would be coming home right about now. Then he grinned as his ears picked up the sound of someone singing quietly as he approached the elevator bays. It was Sandra and she had headphones over her ears, obvious to him approaching her, lost in her own world as she was.

"_Momma told her baby, girl take it real slow  
Girl told her momma hey I really gotta go  
He's waitin' in the car  
Momma said girl you won't get far  
Thus are the dreams of an average Jane  
Ninety miles an hour down a lovers lane  
On a tank of dreams  
Oh if she could've only seen  
But fate's got cards that it don't want to show…_"

He carefully lifted one headphone ear up and, grinning, whispered in her ear, "Miss me?"

She shrieked, jumped, and whirled. When she realized who it was, she shrieked again and jumped into his arms, laughing. "You jerk! I'm gonna get you for that! How did your trip go?"

As they entered the elevator, he said, "It went well. We got the guys we were after but not before they killed two more people and seriously injured a third person."

"Damn," she said. "Wait a minute, you said 'guys'. So there was more than one person involved in that sordid mess?"

"Yes there was."

"I'm guessing money was a factor and a motivator," she said.

He smiled. "You guessed right. The original targets had been the Hanovers." She stared at him blankly. He explained. "They live at a slightly different address than the Spelmans and are considered the kings of Manhattan. The only difference in their address verses the Spelmans was the two last numbers were flipped."

"Ech and ouch," she said, wincing. "So four people died and another two people had their lives destroyed because two people got greedy."

"That's about the sum of it." He noticed she looked a bit tired. "How's work going?" he asked.

"Eh, we lost another girl today. Apparently she decided she couldn't handle the pressure of the job and up and left for what she claims is greener and nicer pastures," she said, running her fingers through her hair. These days she wore it shoulder-length and usually back in either a pony-tail or a headband. Today she had not bothered with either a pony-tail or a headband and it flowed loose around her face.

"Damn. That means more work for you," he said.

"Yeah and I'm already doing several one and a half shifts as it is." She shrugged. "Oh well, more pocket money for me."

As they exited the elevator, he reached into his bag and pulled out a black t-shirt with a colourful logo on it. He handed it to her and said, "Brought you back something." That something turned out to be a _Disney's Beauty and the Beast _Broadway t-shirt with the New York skyline. It had been an impulse thing and from the way her eyes went wide, he didn't regret it.

She accepted the shirt and reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. That was very kind of you."

"Your welcome. Join me for dinner tomorrow if nothing comes up?" he asked.

"Sounds good. You get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow," she said, smiling as she watched him enter his apartment.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Okay, wow! I figure I must be doing something right here, so here's another chapter. No promises but I will try and get another one up either by today or tomorrow.

**Chapter 6**

_Four months later:_

Sandra groaned, stretching the kinks out of her muscles, as she got up from her couch where she'd been catching the evening news. A reporter had reported that a police officer had been killed in the line of duty during a shoot-out at a local jewellery store earlier that day. The name hadn't been released pending notification of the family but Sandra couldn't help but wonder who it was. She felt sorry for the officer's family.

Deciding she needed some fresh air, she grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to her balcony. It was there that she spotted Horatio. She was about to call out to him when she noticed something wrong. He had his palms against the railing and was leaning against it, shoulders slumped and head down. Everything about him suggested he either had a very heavy weight on his shoulders or he had received or knew of some very bad news.

"Horatio?" she called, concerned. He was her friend and if he was hurting then she wanted to know why and what she could do to help him.

He looked up and quickly spotted her. He gave her a tired smile and called back, "Hey, how's it going?"

"Okay. What's wrong? You look like your best friend just died."

He gave a wry smile and said, "Sort of."

She vanished inside and a moment later he heard a knocking at his door. Having a pretty good idea who it was, he went and opened it. Sure enough, Sandra was standing there, coffee cup in hand, barefoot and wearing a bright blue tank top decorated with flowers and dark blue cotton capris. She looked cute, he thought absently.

"Two questions," she said. "Who was it and what can I do to help?"

He stepped aside to let her in and she trailed him to his kitchen where he got his own cup of coffee.

"Did you see the news?" he asked.

"I heard that a cop had been shot in the line of duty during a shoot-out at a jewellery store earlier today but they're not saying who pending notification of the family," she replied.

"Do you remember Tim Speedle, otherwise known as Speed?"

"The dark-haired guy who always looks like he just crawled out of bed and grabbed the first batch of clothes he could get his hands on, even if they've been on the floor for a few days?" she asked. "I think he made a pass at me once when you invited me to that staff barbeque a few months back."

He grinned at the memory. "That's him." Then he sobered. "He was shot when we went to a jewellery store to ask a few questions. Damn thing got out of hand."

"Oh no," she breathed.

He looked at her, sorrow and pain in his eyes, a look she recognized as having been in her own eyes not that long ago. She felt her chest ache. "We managed to save the boy but Speed…" he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. He leaned against the counter, head down, and hands on his hips.

She had no idea what he was talking about when he referred to 'the boy' but it was obviously important and obviously had something to do with Speed.

"Damn it, Speed, why didn't you shoot?" he muttered, stalking through the living room. She remained where she was, waiting for him to work things out as best as he could.

"He didn't shoot?" she asked.

"No, he didn't and Calleigh hasn't said why yet. She's checking his gun but just before he went down, I saw him look at his gun. I think it may have jammed."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Again?" she asked, referring to the Disposo Day incident.

He had told her what had happened, trusting her not make the knowledge public. She had kept that knowledge private and, over time, had become a trusted confident. He found himself telling her things he didn't even tell Yelina or any of his other co-workers.

"Yeah. I'm not sure and I won't know until Calleigh finishes her examination of his gun, but yeah, I think it jammed again and this time it cost him his life."

"Damn, damn, and double damn." She put her coffee mug down and went to him, putting her arms around him. "I'm placing some pretty heavy bets that you were there when he left."

"Yeah, I was. I hate doing that. I hate being there," he said. Then he cracked a grin and said, "Alexx wasn't too happy with him either. She didn't say too much but I could see her cursing a blue-streak at him in her mind."

She grinned. "Let me guess; if he could have heard, his ears would have been blistered."

"Yeah, I think so." He sobered. "Damn it," he muttered. "What do I tell his parents?"

"Tell them that Speed was a good man and that you were proud to know him. Tell them that it was over fast and that you were there when he left, that he wasn't alone when he died," she said. "But stress that he was a good man who was good at his job. He got caught in something that was beyond his and your control, but that he died trying to help someone and that is all that matters."

He nodded. Then, bit by bit, he found himself crumbling. He buried his face in her hair and held on to her for what felt like dear life. "Stupid sonovabitch, I'm going to miss him."

"I know, sweetie, I know." And she held him even tighter as she felt his shoulders begin to shake.

A few days later as the crowd slowly dissipated from Speed's funeral, Horatio spotted Sandra standing quietly off to one side. She wore a nice black blazer and pant suit with a pretty lilac blouse and her hair up in a neat twist. Smiling at her, he went over to her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself. How are you holding?" she asked, smiling back.

"Doing okay. You came," he said.

"Speed was a good man and I wanted a chance to say good-bye," she said. "I also wanted to be here in case you needed a friend."

"I appreciate that." They began walking towards the cars where everyone was heading for the funeral reception. "How did you get here?" he asked. He knew she didn't own a car despite the fact that, if she wanted to, she could afford one.

"Transit." He nodded. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

He smiled at her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "You already have, just by being there."

"And I'll always be here."

"Good to know."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Four years ago:_

"Hold up, Handsome," Sandra called.

Horatio hit the Hold button and waited for Sandra to join him in the elevator. It was late at night and Horatio had just finished wrapping up a case. She had taken to calling him Handsome once in a while and he always replied with Beautiful, which, in his personal opinion, she was. He wasn't sure where the nickname had come from but compared to what else he'd been called, it wasn't too bad. "Hey Beautiful," he said, studying her as she slumped against the elevator wall tiredly. She wore an off-shoulder cap-sleeve shirt in a pretty green color, black jeans, and lace-up dress boots. "Late night or just getting back from a date?"

"Date," she said. "Billy Dawson, that delivery guy who always drops our merchandise off at our store. Finally gave in to his pestering and went out with him tonight."

"How did that go?" he asked. She looked at him and the look on his face had him grinning. "That good, huh?"

"He was polite and charming but something, I don't know, something didn't seem right. Other than that, he was boring as hell." She rubbed her face tiredly. "And I gave up my evening for that?" she muttered. "Oh, and he wants to see a movie on Wednesday with me."

"Which one?"

"_Fahrenheit 9/11_," she said. "I'd rather see _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_, or even that Garfield movie, anything but _Fahrenheit_." She looked at him and said, "Care to join me one night?"

"Harry Potter any good?"

"Ever read the book?"

"Nope."

"You should. It's good."

"In that case, see what happens. If you don't care for Billy's choice of movie," he asked as they left the elevator, "why did you agree to it?"

"Figured I'd give him another chance." She took out her keys as she neared her condo. "Long as he doesn't try and get friendly with his hands, I'm not gonna break his fingers. That would be a fun one to explain to my boss."

He chuckled. "Good night."

"You too."

Two nights later Horatio answered a knock on his door. He had just gotten back from a date with Rebecca Nevins and was about to head for bed when the knock came. It was Sandra.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself. How was your date?" he asked, eyeing her clothing. Jeans and a nice top again, plus denim jacket. Made sense since it was a bit of a cool night.

"You wouldn't happen to have any bleach, would you?" she asked tiredly, leaning against the door frame.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"'Cause I don't think a shower is going to get rid of the feeling of his grubby paws off of me," she groused.

He raised an eyebrow. "You want coffee?" he asked.

"Only if you're offering. I won't keep you up too long; got to head for bed myself since I have a morning shift." She followed him in and took a seat at the kitchen table, taking her shoes off, groaning.

"Those shoes are going to be the death of you," he said.

She grunted. "All in the name of fashion," she quipped. "Besides, when you're only five-foot four, you need all the help you can get. Idiot was six foot, at least."

He chuckled. "So I take it Billy is not getting a third chance?"

"Not on your life. The movie was bad enough but then he decides to get frisky? Heh, I don't think so." She accepted the coffee he handed her and he sat down beside her. "How's it going with your love life?"

"Mmm, not too bad. I'm seeing Rebecca Nevins these days. She's a State Attorney," he said.

"Sounds like fun," she said. "Think it'll last?"

"You never know."

"How you making out with that new guy, Ryan, I think you said his name was?"

"He's good. Got potential."

"He clean his gun regularly?"

"Like clock-work according to his supervisor," he said. "Turns out he's a little obsessive-compulsive."

She grinned. "Think I can have some fun with him?"

"You stay away from him. Eric still gets nervous when you come around," he said.

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" she yelped.

"You're not that good, either," he shot back, grinning.

"What? Just because I forgot to mention that I accidentally dropped that can of soda down the stair now he gets all jittery around me? Pfft, some people have no sense of humour!"

"Eric does have a sense of humour, they just don't include getting sprayed with soda," he shot back, grinning at the memory. He had introduced Sandra to Eric at the staff barbeque and they had traded friendly barbs ever since. He suspected the soda incident was payback for one of Eric's wise-cracks a few weeks ago.

She just grinned at him, mischief in her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** good thing I can type fast than I can write, especially when I'm trying to translate my own notes from my notebook I scribbled in during my transit trip to West Edmonton Mall for a day of shopping. Thank you kindly once again for the reviews and I'll try to keep you all interested.

**Chapter 8**

When Reception called to let him know he had a visitor, Horatio was glad for the break. He was sort of surprised to see Sandra there as she usually didn't visit him at work.

Then his radar went up; she was biting her bottom lip, a sure sign something was bothering her.

"Hey Handsome," she said when she spotted him.

"Hey Beautiful," he replied. "What's up?"

"I know it's an offence to bribe a cop but do you think you could make an exception?" she asked, a playful grin on her face.

He grinned back. "Oh, I think I might be able to. Just don't let IAB hear of it," he replied. "What do you need?"

"Ten minutes of your time to bend your ear in exchange for coffee," she said.

"Make it twenty," he said.

"Deal."

As they walked around the block with their coffee, Sandra explained the reason for her visit. "You remember Billy Dawson, that moron I went out with about a week ago?" He nodded. "Well, it seems he doesn't know how to take _no_ for an answer."

"Uh-oh."

"He's been showing up at work when there's no need to. I've gotten flowers and gifts from him on several occasions and he constantly calls my cell."

"Okay, what did you tell him?"

"At first I was polite; told him I didn't think things would work between us and I wasn't interested in furthering the relationship."

"Okay, I take it he didn't get the hint?"

"No. He wanted to know why I won't give him another chance, that he was sorry he'd gone too far last time, and all he needs is another chance to show me he really is a nice guy."

"How did you reply?"

"I got fed up and told him to piss off. I wasn't interested in dealing with a boring idiot who doesn't understand the phrase _not interested,_ or even _go away._"

He nodded. Sandra did have cause for concern; something like this could get out of hand and become quite dangerous quite fast. "Any luck with that?"

"I don't know, since that was yesterday at work, _again,_" she said. "My boss wasn't too happy with that little scene, as she called it. Told me to keep my personal life and my work life separate." She winced at the memory and continued. "I snapped and told her to tell Billy that; it wasn't like I wanted him around in the first place!"

"How did she take that?"

"I don't know; it was the end of my shift and I stormed off." She ran her fingers through her hair and admitted, "I'm waiting for _that_ call, the one where I'm told I'm not to bother coming in tomorrow."

He nodded. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, you can tell me if it's worthwhile to file a restraining order against that lunkhead or just have a word with his supervisor at work and file a complaint against him, even ask if he could be removed from the route that includes my store," she said.

Horatio thought about that for a moment then said, "Try talking to his supervisor and express your concerns. If that doesn't work, then file a complaint and make sure you retain a copy for your records." She nodded. "In the mean time, if you would like, I can do a background check on him."

"Okay, but only if it won't inconvenience you." He just looked at her and raised one eyebrow. She'd seen that look before; rough translation, he was telling her to stop worrying about 'inconveniencing' him. "Oh, go blow it out your ear!" she yelped. "This is the first time I've ever asked you to make use of your work resources just to get rid of a creepo!"

"If I feel I have to, I will talk to Billy personally," he said firmly.

Sandra's eyebrows shot up at that. "I don't think so."

"Sandra," Horatio said in his best _don't argue with me_ tone of voice.

"Horatio," she replied sweetly. "Tell you what; I'll make you a deal. If, and only if, Billy doesn't back off after I talk to his boss and file a complaint, then you have carte blanche to do whatever you feel is necessary, okay?"

"Fair enough," he said, not planning on sticking to the deal in the slightest.

Then her cell rang. Caller I.D. said _Billy Dawson_. "Damn it," she muttered. She let the phone ring until her answering service picked up. Then she waited another minute before checking the message. Horatio watched curiously as her eyebrows shot up and she held the phone away from her ear. Even standing where he was he could hear the yelling. "Wow," she said, looking at her phone as if it was a poisonous snake that might bite her at any moment.

"Bad?" he asked.

She replayed the message for him and his eyebrows shot up. Billy was fairly screaming obscenities at her, accusing her of being a whore and sleeping around on him and that she was no better than a hooker.

"Forward that message to me, please," he said. She nodded and did so. A moment later, his cell beeped, announcing the arrival of the message.

"I get the feeling I'm being watched," she said, biting her lip as she thought for a moment.

"From the sounds of it, I'd say so."

She came to a decision. "You know that deal I made with you, the one about letting you deal with Billy if he didn't get the hint through his boss?"

"Yes?"

"Screw it. Get the little shit and string him up by his balls if you want to."

"Cheerfully."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As he had promised, Horatio had a look at Billy Dawson's background. To no surprise, he found that Billy had a history of harassment against the female population. There were at least several warnings against him for harassment and two arrests against him for continued harassment despite warnings. There were even two restraining orders against him, all within the last two to three years.

Horatio's eyebrows shot up as he read the file. _This guy is trouble,_ he thought. _Time to pay him a visit._ He made a note of Billy's current place of employment and grabbed Detective Frank Tripp.

"Feel like rattling someone's cage?" he asked the detective at his desk.

"Depends on whose cage you're rattling," Frank said, leaning back in his chair.

"You remember Sandra Sinise, my neighbour?"

"Pretty little thing, bit shy, but yeah I remember her."

Horatio grinned. "That's her, just don't let her catch you calling her 'little' or you'll find her heel in your foot."

"I know, that's why I'm keeping my feet well and truly away from her," Frank said, also grinning. He had met Sandra before and had taken a liking to her. There was something about her that made him want to protect her but he strongly suspected she wouldn't let him, or anyone else for that matter. He had noticed how protective Horatio was of her and he couldn't help but wonder about the story behind that.

Horatio handed him the file on Billy Dawson and as he read it, his eyebrows shot up. "Guy's a prick. What about him?" he asked.

"He's going after Sandra," Horatio explained. "He left a rather, interesting, shall we say, message on her cellphone yesterday."

"Oh yeah?" Horatio took out a microcassette player and hit the 'play' button. Frank scowled as he listened to the message. "Who the heck does this guy think he is?" he growled.

"And that was just from seeing us walking together yesterday when she bought me coffee in exchange for advice on what to do about Billy," Horatio said.

"He was watching her?" Frank listened to the message again and nodded. "He had to have been, otherwise he wouldn't have suspected her of 'sleeping around', as he puts it. What do you plan on doing?"

"I thought I'd start with Billy's boss, let him know what's going on, and then maybe I'll pay a visit to Billy, give him a friendly warning."

_Friendly warning my ass,_ Frank thought, seeing the dark look on the Lieutenant's face. _What the heck. Could be interesting to watch. _Frank nodded. "What does Sandra say?"

"She told me, and I quote, to string him up by his balls if I felt it was necessary."

Frank grinned. "In that case, let's go put the fear of God in that punk."

They picked up Sandra from work after Horatio quietly had a word with her boss and explained the situation in more detail.

"Alright, as long as he stops harassing my staff, take her for as long as you need her," the woman said tiredly.

"If you want, Anna, I can come back later and do closing," Sandra offered. Anna gave her a tired smile and nodded.

"Sure, sounds good. Seems you're the only one who knows how to do closing properly these days," Anna muttered under her breath.

In Horatio's Hummer, complete with coffee, Frank asked, "What was that all about?"

"Long story short, we're having staffing problems again," Sandra explained. "We've got six girls on staff, myself included, and two of them are part-timers. One of the full-timers can't work at night because she moonlights as a stripper at an apparently high-class gentleman's club."

"If she's a high-class stripper, why does she work at the store?" Frank asked.

"Because her parents don't know about the moonlighting thing and she wants to keep a clean image with them but she gets an erotic kick out of being a stripper," Sandra said, "and that's a direct quote." Horatio just shook his head and Frank groaned. "And the other two girls, one is a student at Miami-Dade Community College and the other one, she's just too damned lazy, so sometimes we have trouble with closing, making sure the receipts and the cash count add up. I'm doing what I can but I'm already pushing the legal limit of work hours as it is and I'm starting to get tired. Same with Anna and from what little she's telling me, she may have to fire one of the girls."

"The lazy one?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah. One too many screw-ups and the last one, it took both Anna and me damn near an hour and a half to unscrew it," Sandra said. "I think that's why she didn't fire me when I snapped at her last time. Besides, I apologized with words and coffee."

"That always helps," Frank said.

At CDL Deliveries, they spoke to the receptionist and were quickly directed to Billy's supervisor.

"What can I do for you today?" Mr. Chance asked as they seated themselves in his slightly- crowded office. Mr. Chance was a heavy-set man with a salt-and-pepper hair and moustache. He had tanned skin and lines around the mouth and eyes, suggesting plenty of time in the sun. He wore a short-sleeved dress shirt but the assembled group could see he was no slouch when it came to hard work because his arms were huge and it wasn't fat.

"You have an employee by the name of Billy Dawson, a driver," Horatio said. Sandra had decided to let Horatio and Frank take the lead in this one.

"I have a lot of drivers," Mr. Chance said. "What about him?"

"He has been harassing Ms. Sinise, here, and recently left a very unflattering message on her cell," Horatio said. "Would you like to hear it?" Mr. Chance nodded and Horatio played the tape for him.

Mr. Chance quickly pulled up Billy's employee file and groaned quietly when he saw Billy's picture. Faces he could remember but names were a bitch. "Not him and not again," he groused. "How did he meet Ms. Sinise?" he asked. Horatio told him the name of Sandra's store and where it was located. He quickly pulled up Billy's current route, which included the store.

"Mr. Chance, are you aware that Billy has quite the record for harassment against women?" Horatio asked.

"I'm aware that he'd had several complaints filed against him here but not that he had a record," Mr. Chance replied. "He's been with us for about four years now."

"He's been a busy boy over the last two years," Frank said.

"Sounds like it," Mr. Chance said sourly. "Okay, according to his file, he was warned the last time we received a complaint that if we received yet another one, he would be fired." He looked at Sandra and said, "I'm reluctant to ask but are you willing to file a complaint against Billy Dawson?"

"I don't want to cost him his job," Sandra said. "I just want him to leave me alone."

"I can understand that, but from what I'm being told here, this is becoming a pattern of behaviour that could become quite dangerous," Mr. Chance said. "It has got to stop and it will stop here."

"That I can concur," Horatio said. Frank nodded.

"Okay," Sandra said. "In that case, yes, I would like to file a complaint against Billy."

It took about half an hour for Sandra to file the complaint and when they finally left, Sandra didn't feel too good about what was going on. She admitted as much to Horatio and Frank.

"Sandra," Horatio said, trying to find the right words. "Sometimes, sometimes doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing and people like Billy, if their behaviour is not stopped quickly, it can accelerate and become quite dangerous."

"Something you two can testify to?" she asked sourly. Both men nodded. She sighed heavily. "I know, I know. I keep telling myself I did the right thing but that doesn't get rid of the knot in my stomach." She rubbed her stomach and muttered, "An all-too-familiar knot."

Horatio smiled tightly at her meaning and put a comforting arm around her. "It will get better, I promise."

Frank watched the exchange and once again wondered about the story behind Sandra Sinise. When Horatio had initially introduced Sandra, his explanation had been that she was his neighbour and had no family of her own, having moved to Miami not that long ago. He didn't doubt Horatio but he did notice that, when the weather got bad, Horatio tended to fuss a bit over Sandra.

As they dropped Sandra back off at work, Horatio asked her, "Join me for dinner?"

"What about Rebecca?" she asked.

"That won't be an issue," he replied tightly.

Sandra raised her eyebrow at Horatio's tone of voice and said, "We'll be talking." There was a note of finality in her voice and Horatio nodded in agreement.

As they left to find Billy, Frank asked, "You and Nevins having problems?"

"Let's just say she made a deal I didn't agree with and I decided it would be best if we parted ways," Horatio replied.

"Are we talking about the deal she made with that cop killer, Jojo Johnson?" Horatio nodded tightly. Frank nodded, sensing that Rebecca Nevins and Jojo Johnson were touchy subjects, and left it at that.

Billy wasn't hard to find, considering he had the day off. He was at his apartment, a seedy, ground-floor thing, and was outside washing his car.

"Billy Dawson," Horatio called.

"Who wants to know?" Billy called back. He was a tall man with black hair, a bit paunchy around the middle and with thin arms and legs. He wore cut-off denim shorts and a wife-beater shirt as he washed his car.

"Lieutenant Horatio Caine and Detective Frank Tripp, Miami-Dade police," Horatio said, leaning against the Hummer's front bumper, arms folded and ankles crossed.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from Miami's finest?" Billy asked, not turning off his hose as he washed his car down.

"We're issuing a friendly little warning in regards to Sandra Sinise," Frank said, hands on his hips as he stood next to Horatio.

"Sandra? That bitch? What about her?" Billy snapped, a cold look coming into his eyes.

"That _bitch,_ as you so politely refer to her as, has filed a complaint against you for harassment," Horatio replied coldly. "Stay away from her."

"Or else what? What are you guys gonna do, huh? Arrest me, again?"

Horatio smiled coldly. "If necessary, yes."

"You don't have anything on me, just her word against mine," Billy snapped.

"We have the rather nice message you left on her cellphone," Frank said. "That's more than enough to get our attention."

"Consider this your first and only warning, Billy," Horatio said.

"And if I don't give a fuck?" Billy challenged.

"Then we will be having this conversation _again_, only it will be down at the police station," Horatio said. "_Stay away from Sandra._"

"How does a little bitch like her warrant me a visit from the cops?" Billy snarked. "Bet she gave a little more than she ever gave me."

"She's a friend, dumbass," Frank shot back as he got in the Hummer.

"Which is _more_ than we can say about _you_," said Horatio, coldly.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **this takes place after 'Felony Flight' but before 'Manhattan Manhunt'. Thank you all for your kind reviews and your patience. I assure you, Horatio will get the girl... eventually :D

**Chapter 10**

_8 months later:_

As Horatio drove through the streets of Miami, his mind was working rapidly. Beside him, Detective Mac Taylor was talking to someone on his cell phone. After a moment, he hung up.

"Okay, it's been arranged," Mac said. "We have a flight out to New York in two hours on Maybach Air."

"Good," Horatio said.

Time was of essence because serial killer Henry Darius had escaped, but not before kidnapping Alexa Endecott and killing seven innocent people. Horatio and Mac had discovered that not only had Darius kidnapped Alexa, he had dragged her all the way to New York for reasons unknown to anyone except him. All they knew was that it had something to do with Alexa's birthday, which, somehow, he knew about.

As soon as they had realized what Darius was doing, Mac had alerted his counter-part in New York, Detective Stella Bonasera.

His cell in a holder and open for easier access, Horatio hit the voice-dial button on it and, on the prompt, said, "Sandra." On speaker-phone, the phone beeped as it dialled Sandra's cell, then the line rang. After two rings, Sandra picked up.

"_Hey Handsome_," she said cheerfully. In the background they could hear someone singing about still believing in someone. Horatio recognized the song as being one of Sandra's favourites, Vince Gill's _I Still Believe in You._

Mac's eyebrows shot up curiously as Horatio smiled. "Hey Beautiful. Are you at home by any chance?" he asked.

"_I am indeed at home. I am on the balcony with a soda, good ol' Vince Gill, and a Kathy Reichs novel,_" she said.

"Which one?" he asked. Kathy Reichs was the popular author of several books involving forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan and Sandra was hooked on them.

"_Death Du Jour,_" she replied.

"Any good?"

"_Handsome, you know me better than that. If it ain't Reichs, I ain't reading it._"

He chuckled. "True. Listen, I need a favour. I have to catch a flight to New York in two hours."

"_What do you need?_"

"Would you mind packing a bag for me?"

"_How many days?_" There was a click in the background then the sound of a door being unlocked, followed by another click. Bless her heart, Sandra was already moving.

"Three days at the most."

"_I'll pack for four._"

"Thank you, I owe you one."

"_We'll talk about it later. How's the weather in New York, do you know?_"

Horatio looked at Mac in silent query. Mac spoke up.

"Sandra, my name is Detective Mac Taylor," he said.

"_Nice to meet you, Detective,_" she said.

"Likewise. The weather in New York is fine, last I checked, if a bit cool."

"_Okay, thanks. Hey, Horatio?_"

"Yes?"

"_When you get back, it's me, you, and dinner._"

"Sounds good. Anything in particular?"

"_How about our favourite place? I'll foot. Anna's been making noise about promoting me to manager because there's been noise about her making it to district manage, which means I may be getting a raise in the near future._"

"How do you feel about that?"

"_Not sure if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility._"

"That's what I thought when Megan asked me to take over as head of the lab," he said, referring to Megan Donner, who had taken leave when her husband had been killed in the line of duty. She had briefly rejoined the lab but then resigned when the work became too much for her to handle.

"_Yeah, and look where that got you; a pain in the ass by the name of Stetler and constant fun with the accounting department,_" she said sourly.

Horatio and Mac grinned. "Should you become manager of the store, you'll be just fine," Horatio assured her.

"_Thanks for the vote of confidence. Hey Mac, is it true that The Dakota is haunted by John Lennon?_"

Mac grinned. "I wouldn't know; I've never been there. Besides, I don't believe in ghosts."

"_Pfft, that's what I said until I made the mistake of walking down North Clark Street on the night of the anniversary of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre when I was sixteen. I am _never _doing that again!_"

"You're from Chicago?" Mac asked curiously, recognizing the reference, him being a Chicago native himself.

"_Yup. Long story. Anyhow, Horatio, your bag is ready. Let me know when you're ready to pick it up and I'll meet you in the lobby, unless you want me to drop it off at the lab._"

"The lobby is fine and I'll be there in about ten minutes," Horatio said. "How did you pack so fast?" he asked, envisioning his suits being crushed.

"_On my way down and you forget, smarty, I know your place fairly well. With the very _rare_ exception of day-off outings, I have yet to see you in anything else but suits,_" she replied easily. "_You're also a creature of habit and I'm a sales girl; I know how to pack clothes in such a way they won't get wrinkled. Plus, I know how to jabber on the phone and move at the same time; comes with the job._"

She had a point there, Horatio thought. Sandra continued.

"_In the mean time, nice talking to you, Mac,_" she said.

"Same here," Mac replied.

Sandra hung up and Horatio hit the 'off' button on his cell.

"Interesting person," Mac commented, wonder what the story was with that relationship.

"Yes, she is. She's been my neighbour for several years and she's a good friend," Horatio said. "I trust her."

At the building, Horatio pulled up to the front and sure enough, Sandra was waiting for him, bag at her feet, and nose in her book. She looked up when she heard him and smiled. He had to grin. She was wearing a t-shirt with what looked like Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl on it with the words _Dangerous Curves_ on it.

"Are you wearing shorts under that?" he asked, not seeing anything past the hem of her shirt.

"No, I'm wearing a bikini. Didn't want to come downstairs in it so I grabbed the first shirt I could lay my hands on."

"That would not have been out of place around here," he pointed out.

"I'm a Chicago native, remember?" she pointed out. "I don't believe in parading around in my bikini unless I'm at the beach or on my balcony." He nodded. That was just the way she was. She handed him his bag and an empty carry-on bag, which he raised an eyebrow to. "In case you wanted to bring some files with you on your flight," she explained. He nodded at her thoughtfulness.

"Bring you back anything?" he asked.

"Just yourself, preferably in one piece," she replied.

"Okay," he said. She reached up and gave him a hug, which he returned tightly.

"Go get the bad guys, Handsome, and I'll see you when you get back," she said. She planted a kiss on his check and he smiled.

"That's a promise," he said.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **thank you all for the nice reviews! I assure you I'm working as quickly as I can to get more chapters in. Figured I'd try and give a bit of a background on Sandra in this chapter, flesh her out a bit more, so to speak.

**Chapter 11**

"Sandra?" Horatio called as he entered her condo. He had called her earlier to let her know he was back from New York. Why, he didn't know, except that it felt right. She had told him that her door would be unlocked and he could walk right in.

He could hear music in the background and, after listening to it for a moment, deuced it to be an artist he wasn't familiar with; the guy was singing something about life being a dance.

"I'm in the bedroom!" she hollered back. "Coffee's fresh if you want it!"

He wandered over to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee then wandered down the hall towards her bedroom. The first thing he saw was her backside as she was on her hands and knees and trying to reach under her bed.

She has a very nice tush, he thought absently. An old memory surfaced, one from that one night they had shared what felt like a life-time ago. He remembered that sweet little tush snuggling against him after they'd had sex a second time, after her nightmare. He smiled fondly at the memory and tucked it away.

"How was the trip?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled. "You catch the bad guy?"

"We caught both bad guys," he said.

"I hear a 'but' in that sentence," she said, backing up and out from under her bed and sitting up.

"You're right; but not before Darius killed a bunch of high school kids and the girl he kidnapped," he admitted reluctantly.

"Damn it. I'm sorry. At least you caught the son of a bitch and he'll stand trial for his crimes. And that moron who killed that poor kid's mom?" She brushed her bangs out of her face and picked up the shoe box she had taken out from under her bed.

"Nailed him. He's coming back to Florida and he's not happy about it." He didn't tell her about the trouble he'd had to deal with in regards to his past and a certain pain-in-the-ass IAB officer. He would, later, because he wanted her input on that.

"Let me guess, 'cause of the death penalty?"

"That's right."

She shrugged. "You take a life, you pay the price." She had never really said whether she advocated the death penalty or not but that seemed to be her view on it, Horatio realized. Take a life, pay the price. Fair enough. "You hungry? I was thinking about a McCain gourmet pizza and a salad."

He smiled. He had to admit he was a bit hungry and since Sandra was offering, he wasn't turning her down. "Sounds good." As he watched her put the shoe box away in the closet, a photograph slipped out and fluttered to the floor unbeknownst to Sandra. Curious, he picked it up. It showed a young girl with her arms wrapped around an elderly woman with white hair. Both were laughing at the camera. He thought the girl looked familiar but he wasn't sure. Flipping it over, he spotted a faded date on the back. _August '97_ the handwriting said. "Sandra," he said.

"Hmm?" she asked. Then she spotted what he was holding. "Oh! Forgot I had that." She smiled fondly at the photograph.

"Is that you?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me and Nana, a life-time ago." Without realizing it, she found herself telling him about Nana. "Nana pretty much raised me after Mom took off when I was younger. I don't really remember her too much, just some vague images, nothing solid. Dad, well, who the hell knows? But Nana, she took care of me as best as she could. I was fifteen when she died, which is how I wound up in foster care for a bit. Not her fault; I know she did what she could. We weren't exactly well-off but we did okay. She always managed to make things seem okay and I loved her dearly."

Horatio smiled and put an arm around her waist, hugging her as she laid her head on his shoulder, remembering. "She sounds like a special person."

"She was. Oh, she was. She was from the Bayou originally and even though she moved to Chicago when she got married, she never really lost that accent. I loved listening to her tell her stories about when she was growing up mostly because I loved hearing her accent." She smiled fondly and said, "She used to tell me that no matter how bad things got, have faith in things even if it isn't God, 'cause dreams were like seeds and faith was like water; you needed faith to help your dreams grow."

"How did she die?"

"One of those things; she just slipped away in her sleep. Laid down for a nap and never woke up again. I later found out she had died of a massive heart attack in her sleep. It was my neighbour that found her and my neighbour that told me when I came home from school."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It happens. Life happens. She also told me that when it came to shit, I had two choices; I could either let it stay on me and it would eventually stink to high heaven, or I could make use of it and use it as manure for roses. Took me quite a while to figure out what the heck she was talking about," she said, laughing.

He grinned. "She sounds like a very colourful woman."

"Oh, she was. Mind you, even though she died, I don't think she ever really left me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You remember I told you that when I was attacked, I wasn't sure how the hell I got out of that alleyway?"

"Yes?"

"I fudge a bit, partly because I still don't believe it and partly because not too many other people would believe it."

"Okay."

Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember. "I remember laying there, hurting all over in ways I can't describe, and thinking, _Please God, let me die. Release me from this pain; I hurt so much._ I think I was on my side at the time and, for some reason, I remember looking up towards the mouth of the alley and I swear, Horatio, I _swear_ I saw Nana standing there. She looked kind of faint and I remember thinking, _that can't be right; Nana's gone._ But she was there, I swear it."

Horatio nodded. "I've heard of that happening before; people near death seeing the ones they love, especially those who've passed on."

"Yeah? Well, Nana was standing there and I know I heard her talking to me. She was saying, '_Up you go, Little One, up you go. You got things to do and you can't do it lying there like a dead 'gator._' She always called me Little One, even when I was fifteen." She smiled at the memory. "Anyway, I remember trying to call out to her, begging her not to leave me. I kept thinking that if I could reach her, I could bring her back because I missed her terribly. The beat cop that found me when I practically fell into his arms, he said I kept calling for Nana but he wasn't sure because my jaw was broken."

"Do you think it was her?" he asked.

She nodded. "I like to think so. I like to think that when I needed her the most, she came back. It's a comforting feeling."

"That it is," he said, rubbing her shoulder. "That it is."

She smiled at the photograph and put it on her dresser. "Should probably get this framed. In the mean time, I said something about food, didn't I?"

"You did indeed. How did it go with your manager? Any confirmation on the rumours about her making you manager?" he asked, following her into the kitchen.

"Now _that_ is an interesting story."

"I look forward to hearing it."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

As Horatio and Sandra sat down to a gourmet pizza and a garden salad, she explained what she meant about having an interesting story.

"Okay, yesterday I'm finishing my shift and so is Anna. Out of the blue she asks me if I'm hungry as she's thinking about getting some dinner. I thought the request was a bit odd, but okay, I'm not one to turn down a free meal," Sandra said.

"I've noticed," he said, causing her to blow a raspberry at him, making him grin.

"_Anyway,_ we're over at the Olive Garden (nice place, by the way) and we're chatting away at various topics when she suddenly asks me how I'd feel about being the manager of the store," she said.

"How did you reply?" he asked, forking a mouthful of salad.

"Told her that it was a big responsibility and why was she asking me, of all people. Turns out that, in her opinion, I'm one of the few people with any brains in that store. The regional managers don't have any other managers they can spare until they hire a new one so the obvious thing to do is train a new manager," she said. "She said she appreciated the way I stood up to her in regards to the situation with Billy, as it shows I've got backbone, and I quote."

"That's a vote of confidence."

"Yeah. Anyway, I thought about it and thought what the heck? Might as well. So, as of tomorrow, I officially start management training."

"That's good, that's really good," he said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, I think. Next time I go grocery shopping I think I'd better load up on Rolaids or some such thing."

"What for?"

"In case my acid level goes up more than what I want it to, which is what I think may happen," she said sourly. He chuckled. "Anyway, enough about me. Besides chasing after morons, what else did you do while you were in New York?" she asked.

"What makes you think I did anything else?"

She looked at him and said, "'Cause your beautiful blue eyes are fairly screaming that you've got more on your shoulders than you want right now."

"I don't know how you do it," he said.

"Do what?"

"See right through me like that."

She shrugged. "Same way you see right through me; we've known each other long enough."

He smiled ruefully; she had a point. "A D.A. decided to try and jump me for an old homicide situation I was involved with when I was a teen. It involved my parents," he said.

Her eyebrows shot up at that. "_Excuse me?_ Where did they find that?"

He smiled tightly. "I'll give you a hint; a certain fellow in IAB."

She groaned. "Rick Stetler. He's been nosing around again."

"Yes, that's what it looks like."

"Wonder why, unless, of course, he's just trying to make trouble."

"That would be Rick; looking for monsters where monsters don't exist."

"I don't mean to pry," she said carefully, "but you never really talk about your parents." The look he gave her spoke volumes. "Touchy subject, huh?" He nodded. "That's okay; I apologize if I brought up any bad memories."

Horatio thought for a moment, trying to gather himself. Sandra had told him quite a bit about herself, things she had probably told no one else. He owed it to her to try and explain.

"Umm, my father, he, he was not a nice man," he began. "He had a temper and I saw it often."

"Oh no," she breathed. "No kid deserves to grow up like that."

Seeing that she was genuinely sympathetic, he found the courage to continue. "He lost his temper one day, when I was sixteen, and beat my mother to death. I came home and he tried to go after me. He didn't survive the encounter."

"Damn," she whispered. She stood up and went around the table and put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You once told me that doing the right thing wasn't always easy. Now, I know that and I know you know that, but it doesn't make things any easier, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," he admitted, leaning back against her, finding comfort in her scent and her warmth.

"It looks like you've been trying to right the wrongs of the world for sometime."

"Feels like forever. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother."

She kissed his temple affectionately and whispered, "I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter, the cast-offs of human society. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry. '_God,_' I said, '_this is terrible! Why don't you do something?_' God was silent for a moment and then spoke softly. '_I have done something_,' was the reply, '_I created you_.'"

"Hmm?" he asked, puzzled by the statement.

"Figure it out, sweetie, figure it out." She placed another gentle kiss on his forehead before returning to her seat, an affectionate smile on her face.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **It had to happen sooner or later; Marisol has entered the picture but be patient. She won't be here long, I promise.

**Chapter 13**

_Three and a half years ago._

As Sandra entered the lobby of her building, she hit the speed-dial button for Horatio's cell. He answered after two rings.

"You home?" she asked without preamble.

"_I am. Are you?_"

"Just about."

"_Coffee?_"

"Please and thank you. I'm just gonna pop by for a quick minute then I've got to grab a shower and head out again; my fridge is getting dangerously low on supplies and I think I'd better stock up on Rolaids."

He chuckled. "_Door's open._" He clicked off.

Life had been fairly quite for everyone as of late, although Sandra wasn't sure she'd include Eric Delko in that, not after Stetler went after him for having a little bit of marijuana in his system, passive or not. Turned out it was for his sister, Marisol, who was suffering from a rather nasty bout of cancer.

Horatio was pouring her a cup of steaming coffee when she entered his condo and collapsed on the couch. "Long day?" he asked.

She groaned. "Let it be heard, one and all, I am now officially the manager of my store. Tangle with me and I'll twist your undies in a knot while you're still wearing them," she said, raising one finger in emphasis.

"Duly warned," he said, handing her the coffee.

"You doing anything tonight?" she asked.

"Marisol, Eric's sister, invited me to dinner," he said.

"Good," she said. "About damn time you took notice of the female population again."

"I notice you."

"I don't count; I'm your best friend."

He grinned at her. Yes, she was his best friend, that much he could say was true, and she was a friend he valued highly.

She swallowed the rest of her coffee, stood up, and said, "Thanks for the coffee. You have fun with Marisol and I'll catch up to you later, 'kay?"

"Will do," he said.

As Sandra showered, she thought. She cared about Horatio more than she let on and she probably always would. He knew her better than anyone, except possibly Nana. Sometimes, when the nights got long, she was tempted to see what would happen if she let go and gave in to her feelings towards Horatio.

But then she would get scared, afraid that if she did, she would loose her best friend because things would get too awkward between them. So she kept her feelings buried deep within and contented herself to daydreams and fantasies. She was very conscious of the age-gap between them and had serious doubts as to whether Horatio would even want to get involved in someone as young as she.

"_Maybe when I hit thirty, if he hasn't gotten married by then_," she thought. "_Or if I haven't gotten married by then. Maybe._"

She wondered how Horatio felt before deciding that she was probably better off not knowing. He probably thought of her as just a really good friend, nothing more and nothing less. She was too scared to find out.

As for Marisol, she sincerely hoped he had some luck with her. After all, that business with Rachel Turner had burnt him pretty bad, even though it had not been neither his nor Rachel's fault; it had been Walter Dresden's fault, that rat-faced bastard. He had killed Rachel as a way of framing Horatio, only Horatio and his team wound up nailing him for murder. Judge Rat-face, the jerk, didn't count. She knew Horatio would get him sooner or later.

"_Mess with the best, die like the rest, as the saying goes. Or should I say, go to jail like the rest?_" she thought absently. "_Whatever._"

As Horatio put Sandra's used coffee cup in the sink, his thoughts drifted towards her. Over the years he had watched as she had gradually come out of her shell and blossomed into a beautiful woman, confident and sure. Being made manager of her store would boost that confidence, he was sure of that.

He couldn't count on his hands how many times she had been there for him with a smile and a cup of coffee in hand, always willing to listen, to support, to _care_. She had visited him while he'd been in holding during that nasty business with Walter Dresden, and offered words of support and comfort. When he'd finally gotten home, she'd been there with something warm ready for him to eat and she'd listened when he'd vented his frustration about Judge Ratner who had let Walter Dresden go due to supposed lack of procedural and the fact that his team investigated Rachel's murder. What she had called Ratner had not been nice and had given him the nickname of Judge Rat-face. He grinned at the memory.

He cared about Sandra, he realized, a lot. Many times he'd been tempted to see what would happen if they went beyond the boundaries of friendship and into the realm of lovers. _No,_ he told himself firmly. _She's too young for you and you know it. Besides, she might be content to be just friends and going beyond that might ruin a very good friendship. No, best to leave things alone. See how it goes with Marisol. Mind you, it's going to be interesting explaining things to Eric,_ he thought wryly. _His boss is dating his sister. That is going to be fun._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Figured I'd get this chapter in while I was thinking of it. I am gradually working my way towards getting those two together but that's going to take a bit longer. Sandra has just a little bit more growing up to do but rest assured, Horatio will be there to guide her through it and then yes, those two will wind up together. Best friends do make good lovers; I should know, as I married my best friend but it took about three years to get there, lol!

**Chapter 14**

_Two years ago._

He was numb. Numb and cold. He shouldn't be cold because it was warm in Miami today, but he was painfully cold.

_Marisol is gone,_ he thought, the thought echoing through his mind. _That's not the way it's supposed to be. She's supposed to be with me and we're supposed to be enjoying dinner together, celebrating our wedding. She's supposed to be with me._

He had managed to make it home, or at least up the elevator, and somehow he managed to make it to his door.

_No. No, I don't want to go home.__ I don't want to be alone._

Before he knew it, he found himself banging on Sandra's door. It was late at night but she opened the door pretty quickly. He figured she must've been heading for bed because she wore a cotton boxer set in white with colourful butterflies all over it and a short French terry hoodie robe in bright pink. She had a faintly floral smell to her skin and looked like she'd just gotten out of a bath.

Her welcoming smile quickly turned to concern when she saw her face. "Horatio?" she asked hesitantly. "Where's Marisol? I thought you two were getting married today."

"We did. I, umm, she…" he found he was having trouble getting the words out. Sandra, bless her heart, seemed to realize something was wrong. She gently took his arm and brought him inside, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, it's late, I…" he began.

"Hush," she said, leading him to her couch. It was a nice couch, thick and comfy with lots of soft, brightly coloured pillows of different kinds of fabrics. He found himself sinking into it and then some. She disappeared and reappeared a moment later with a cup of coffee and what smelled like a shot of brandy in it, which she pressed into his hands.

"Horatio, what happened and where's Marisol?" she asked again, sitting next to him.

"Marisol, Marisol is gone. The Mala Noche took her. She took a bullet to the stomach and she didn't survive." Those were the hardest words he'd ever spoken. He heard her gasp.

"Oh no. _Oh, no. _Horatio, no. Sweetie…"

He looked at her and to his shame, felt his eyes beginning to well up. She quickly took his coffee and set it down on the table and put her arms around him. He found himself sagging against her.

And the tears came.

And he held on to Sandra for dear life. She held on to him just as hard, not saying anything, just holding him. At one point he could have sworn he felt tears from Sandra sliding into his hair but he wasn't sure.

He had not cried in a long time, not since Speed had died, and even that hadn't lasted long. But Marisol was different. He had genuinely loved her, loved her with all his heart. And now she was gone, cruelly snatched away from him by someone with a major attitude problem. It wasn't fair. _It wasn't fair._ Marisol had been innocent and she had loved him as much as he had loved her.

_She was gone._

He cried until he felt like he had no more tears and his whole body felt like a limp rag. Finally, he sagged back against the couch and reached for the now-cold coffee and took a healthy swallow.

"You're not going anywhere tonight, sweetie," Sandra said firmly. "You can stay on the couch if you want but I don't think you should be alone tonight."

She was right. Besides, he didn't want to be alone tonight.

"I need…" he was going to say a change of clothes and some p.j's but she beat him to the punch.

"Go have a shower. I'll run over to your place and get you some clean clothes and p.j's, okay? Then, if you want, I will stay up with you until you fall asleep." She smiled tenderly and said, "The movie channel has _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest_ playing. I hear it's good."

He nodded tiredly and said, "That sounds good."

"Go, go grab a shower and I'll get your stuff." She pushed him towards the bathroom but he stopped halfway down the hall and turned back to her.

"Sandra?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here."

She smiled and said, "Sweetie, isn't that what friends are for? We look out for each other."

As she headed to Horatio's apartment, his spare key in her hands, her thoughts were in a whirl.

_My god, __Marisol! Damn it!_ was all she could think. _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Those rat-faced, evil, soul-less sons of bitches! How dare they?_

Sandra had met Marisol once, when Horatio had kicked her over to his place in light of a shooting incident at the spa where Marisol was relaxing due to her treatment. Sandra had spotted Marisol on the balcony and, after a quick word with Horatio, had come over to keep Marisol company. The two women had bonded instantly and she had been happy for Horatio when he'd told her of his decision to marry Marisol. He wanted a family and she didn't blame him in the slightest. He would make a wonderful father.

And now Marisol was gone, killed on the day of her wedding. She hadn't even gotten a chance to have her wedding night.

_Rat-faced bastards, I hope they burn in hell!_ she thought angrily as she grabbed Horatio's p.j's and a spare change of clothes. She took a swipe at the tears that were making their way down her face. _Not now, _she told herself firmly. _Horatio needs you. He needs you to be strong until he can find the strength to get through this and that's going to take time. He's got so much on his shoulders right now it's not funny. Be strong for him._

Instead of the couch, they wound up crashing on her bed, which was okay because she'd put a t.v. in her room some time ago. He eventually fell asleep beside her only to wake up, thrashing and calling for Marisol. She was there, soothing and holding him until he fell back to sleep, emotionally worn out.

In the morning she made him breakfast, a hearty vegetable omelette that he'd taught her how to make, with coffee.

She studied him from across the table as he ate. When he noticed her watching him, he gave her a tired smile.

"Let's get something clear here, sweetie," she said, coming to a decision. "For as long as you need to, my door is unlocked and my couch or my bed is available if you don't feel like being alone."

"And if you're out?"

"Then I'll be home shortly. You know my routine." That was true, he did. "If you need to talk, even if it's at 3 a.m. in the morning, you come and get me."

"I can't do that to you."

"It's better share the grief with someone who understands than to carry that burden alone. You still grieve, but when you share it with someone, it's easier to deal with." She was right, of course. "For now, I want you to do me a favour."

"I'll try."

"Take your grief, take your sorrow, and turn it into anger and use that anger to get the rat-faced bastards that killed her and make them pay."

"I plan on it." And the look on his face said he would enjoy every minute of it.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **short chapter, I know, and I apologize. I'm hopping the next one will be a bit longer.

**Chapter 15**

_Two weeks later:_

"I have to go to Brazil," he'd said, one week after Marisol's funeral. "Marisol's killer, a Mala Noche bastard by the name of Antonio Riaz who was deported back to Brazil instead of being tried for murder, simply because he coughed up some info on a terror cell."

She had nodded, knowing he was going to do what he had to do, even if that meant chasing a guy to the ends of the earth.

"Be careful and don't do anything rash, okay? Come back home alive, please," she said. "I've already buried one friend; I don't want to bury another any time soon."

"I intend to come back alive. I'm not going to say the same about Riaz," he'd replied coldly. She'd had no doubts about that.

A week later she spotted him on his balcony, hands on the railing, leaning forward, and she called out to him.

"Horatio!" she called. He lifted his head and smiled when he saw her. She waggled her cup at him and he nodded, waving his hand to indicate she could come over, which she did.

"How did your trip go?" she asked, watching him closely as she leaned against the kitchen counter, watching him putter around the condo.

He shrugged. "It went."

"And Riaz?"

"Not a problem anymore," he said.

"I seee," she said. She took a sip of her coffee and asked, "How's Eric?"

"He's good. He said to say 'hello'. How are things going for you? You settling in okay as manager?"

"I'm doing good. Had to come down hard on one of the girls recently for her lateness in returning from her lunch break."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah, she gets a half-hour lunch break and arrives back fifteen minutes late," she said. "Normally I'd let her off with a warning but this is strike three. Told her to get a watch or get a new job."

"Fair enough."

"You see Yelina while you were in Brazil?"

"Yes, I did. Unfortunately she had to come back to Miami."

"Uh-oh."

"Trouble with Ray Jr. and Riaz."

"You get it fixed?"

"I did."

"Let me guess; permanently." He raised an eyebrow at her. She just looked at him, not at all fazed by that look. "Let me guess; ask me no questions, I tell you no lies, as the saying goes, I believe?" she asked. He nodded. She put her coffee cup down and said, "Look, I know you well enough not to ask questions about some things. I respect you and that means I respect the things you do. Now, I get the feeling that a lot more happened in Brazil than what you're telling me, but I'm not going to ask for details. There's only one thing I care about."

"And what's that?"

"That you're home safe and alive."

"That I am."

"Good. Will you promise me something?" she asked, going over to him, reaching out and putting her hands on his forearms even as he put his hands on her waist.

"If I can."

"Be careful. I know you're still grieving but please, Horatio, don't get reckless. I've already buried one friend; I don't want to bury another."

"I promise I'll be as careful as my job allows me," he said.

"Fair enough. Now c'mere you; I'm over-due for a hug." Grinning at her, he gave her a tight hug. "Did you bring me back anything?" she asked, giving him an impish grin.

He snorted with laughter. "It's in the bedroom in my suitcase. I haven't unpacked yet."

She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Just thought I'd ask."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **so I decided to have a bit of fun with Sandra in this chapter :D

**Chapter 16**

_Sixteen months ago:_

Over the last few months things had been fairly quiet for everyone, or at least for Sandra. Horatio, on the other hand, had dealt with Eric being shot and Alexx being injured because of Clavo Cruz, with Eric winding up with a very serious head injury, him having to shoot Clavo Cruz, and Ryan being fired for his interference in an investigation.

When Eric had been shot, she'd visited him at the hospital and tried to help him deal with Marisol, due to the fact that the bullet had damaged some parts of the memory centers in Eric's brain, even making him laugh as much as she could. Eric had forgotten that Marisol had been killed not that long ago and it had been Horatio who'd been forced to give him the news all over again. Horatio had later admitted to Sandra that it had been hard the first time and hadn't gotten any easier despite the circumstances.

For the first while or so after Marisol's death, he had crashed on Sandra's couch a few times. She hadn't said anything when she'd woken up to find him in the living room, merely offered him coffee and breakfast and general conversation.

Gradually, as the nights got better, Horatio found himself crashing on Sandra's couch less and less. Now, maybe once a month, he crashed there, especially after a difficult case or a particularly long day. He didn't know how she'd managed but she had and he was grateful for her support and unwavering friendship.

Horatio was just about to knock on Sandra's door and invite her to dinner when his ears caught the sound of a shriek followed by a thud and quickly followed by even more shrieking. Still wearing his service weapon as he had just gotten off work, he cautiously put his hand on his weapon, undid the snap, and called out to Sandra.

"Sandra? Sandra, are you okay?" he called, banging on the door.

"_Door's open!_" she hollered back from somewhere in the condo.

Curious, he opened the door, weapon at his side and ready, and spotted Sandra sitting sprawled on the floor looking very, very pissed off about something. Her damp hair was up in a twist and she wore a pink short-sleeved shirt with a bear logo on it that he didn't recognize, and faded jeans.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering what the commotion was all about. It was then that he spotted the cushions from her couch on the floor and what looked like milk droplets coming from the kitchen. His nose picked up the faint smell of dirt that wasn't like outside dirt.

"Oh, I'm fine," she huffed, standing up. "But I do need to report a crime."

"Okay," he said, putting his hands on his hips, even as he put his weapon back in its place at his hip.

"I was conned!" she yelped.

"Conned? By who?"

"By two fuzzballs that looked sweet and innocent, except they turned out to be monsters in disguises!" she yelped.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Three days ago I'm minding my own business on my way to work when I see this sign advertising kittens for free. So, out of curiosity, I stopped by to see what they might have," she began. "They had two kittens left, an orange female and her brother, a little black fuzzball, neither of them with much in the way of tails. They were the last of the bunch and the owner said that if they couldn't find a home for them by the end of the day, they would have to be put down."

"Oh no," he said, seeing where this was going.

"So, sucker that I am I made a deal with the owner. I would be back by the end of the day with a cat carrier if she would hold on to them for me until I finished my shift. I even offered to pay her for her time but she said no, she was just glad to get them off her hands." Horatio grinned. "These are not _kittens,_ Horatio, these are _devils in fur with four feet!_"

As if on cue, two kittens popped their heads up from the couch. One was orange and had bright yellow eyes. The other one was black and looked like someone had punched his nose in. The orange one went 'meh!' and Sandra shot them a filthy look.

"My nerves are shattered because of those… rats!" she groused. "I have gone through four rolls of toilet paper in the last two days, two cartons of cream, a four litre jug of milk I bought three days ago and…" she ranted, making Horatio grin even wider.

_CRASH!_

The kittens had disappeared and the crash had come from the kitchen. Sandra dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "I don't wanna know," she moaned.

Horatio's eyebrows then shot up as he spotted a familiar black kitten racing down the hallway with what looked like toilet paper in its mouth. "Sandra," he said, trying and failing miserably not to grin, as he pointed the kitten's activities out to her.

"Bear, you little shit! Get back here!" she yelped as she took off after the kitten, even as Horatio spotted the orange kitten coming out from the kitchen with what looked like cream or milk on her whiskers. It was then that he noticed the kitten had no tail whatsoever.

"Hello there," he said, picking the kitten. It 'meh!'ed at him and started purring. He grinned and started rubbing its ears, making it purr even louder.

A moment later, Sandra reappeared with the black kitten in her arms. "I see you've been introduced to Moe," she said. "In that case, meet Bear." She held up the black kitten and Horatio noticed he had a very short, stubby tail.

"Okay, Bear I get," he said, "but why Moe?"

"M.O., short for Mandarin Orange. Little runt reminds me of an orange, especially with no tail."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to join me for dinner but after seeing the fun you're having, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," he said, grinning.

"I think, my fine friend, dinner sounds like a damn good idea. It's either that or I'm going to kill these bloody furballs," she groused.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to happen," he said. "You've got too soft a heart to let anything happen to them."

She glared at him and asked, "You sure about that?" He just grinned at her. "Give me five minutes to get changed into something a bit more presentable and leave some food out for them and we can go to wherever you're planning on feeding me." Sure enough, five minutes later she was in rhinestone-decorated jeans and a pretty blouse with fancy chopsticks in her hair. She didn't bother putting socks on, just reached for a pair of nice sandals. After making sure the kittens had food and water, she glared at the pair of them and said, "Behave!" before leaving. As she locked the door, she groused, "I'm not betting on them listening to me."

"Why should they?" he asked, a teasing grin on his face. "They're only cute, innocent kittens."

"Oh, shut up!"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Sorry for the slight delay in up-dates; went to a Brooks and Dunn concert last night, which was a lot of fun. Anyway, read, enjoy, and I'll try and get another chapter in either today or tomorrow.

**Chapter 17**

_Fourteen months ago:_

Sandra felt like whimpering. Her current date, a guy by the name of Nick Brown, may have seemed charming when she accepted his invitation but he was quickly turning into a complete bore, not to mention an arrogant ass.

_Why do I do this to myself?_ she wondered for the tenth time that evening. Nick had gone on and on and on about his work and how much money he makes and yada, yada, yada, yada. Okay, bad enough. Then he'd started on about plastic surgery and how it interferes with God's work and why can't women be satisfied with the way they are? Sandra decided she was better off not telling him about her breast reduction surgery. _Not that he'd be seeing my body anyway,_ she thought wryly. She had already decided he wasn't bed material.

Now, if she could just gracefully end this damn date and go home and soak in the tub that would be wonderful. She toyed with the straw of her Spanish coffee and debated yet again as to how she was going to get out of this one.

_Fake a work call? Plausible, except that the store closed early today because it's Sunday,_ she thought. _So, no go on that one. Horatio? Possibly. Except I've already used him to bail me out of that last date. What if he's busy?_

Just then the bar/restaurant doors opened and in walked the very person she'd been thinking about. _Guess that answers that question, _she thought. He was with Eric, Ryan, and Frank, with Calleigh and Natalia right behind them. They hadn't spotted her yet and she sincerely hoped they would. It might give her the excuse she needed to get the heck out of her date. She wasn't too surprised to see them there as she knew the bar/restaurant was a favourite hang-out for them and after Horatio had taken her there once, she found she favoured it as well. It had good food and a clean atmosphere. For a lot of first dates, it was a logical, safe choice for her.

_What the heck?_ she thought, watching as they sat down at a table; they still hadn't seen her. _If I have to buy Horatio dinner for a week after this, then I will._

Managing to get her cell out of her purse, a nice little Sprint Blackberry model, without Nick seeing her actions, she brought up Horatio's cell number and moved to Messaging. Managing to keep a polite smile plastered on her face, she quickly texted a message that was very blunt and to the point and hit SEND.

As she watched, Horatio's hand suddenly went to his hip and removed his cell. As he read the message, his eyebrows shot up and then he started grinning. Then, damn the man, he showed the message to his friends and they started grinning. It only took them a moment to find her.

When Horatio got the text message, his eyebrows had shot up in surprise.

_GET ME OUT OF HERE! AM IN BAR LOOK BHND R._

Sure enough, there she was, in one of the booths with a man with sandy blonde hair and matching moustache and wore a sports jacket Horatio wouldn't be caught dead in. Sandra had a fake smile plastered on her face but underneath the table Horatio could see her hand clenching her cell as if holding on for dear life or trying to resist the temptation to reach over and strangle the guy she was with. Her other hand idly played with the straw of her drink.

_She looked pretty_, he thought, _but then again, she always does_. She seemed to be wearing a pretty lace-up lilac camisole and a wide, knee-length navy swing skirt with dress sandals. Her matching navy jacket hung on the booth's jacket hook and her hair was held back by a wide black headband.

"Sandra's not having fun," Horatio said, grinning.

"Shall we rescue her?" Eric asked, also grinning.

"Sounds like fun, but how?" Natalia asked. She had met Sandra before and liked her, especially since Sandra gave the occasional discount to her and Calleigh at her store.

That question was answered when Sandra's date said something to her, she nodded, and he stood up and headed for the men's restroom. Horatio caught Sandra's eye and gestured for her to join them. Stealing a furtive look at the door to the men's restroom, she grabbed her drink, purse, and jacket, and hustled over to them, even as Horatio pulled out a seat for her. She fairly collapsed in the chair, setting her drink down on the table. She then put her elbows on the table and her face in her hands and groaned.

"Why? Why the hell do I do this?" she groaned.

"Looking for a bit of nooky?" Eric suggested, grinning.

Not looking up, Sandra shot back, "There has got to be a better way getting that than putting up with bozos."

"There's at least one in every batch," Natalia quipped.

"So how come I'm getting the bad batch?" Sandra yelped, causing everyone to either laugh or chuckle.

"What are you going to do about your date?" Ryan asked.

"Ditch him. You guys are more fun," Sandra replied. "At least you guys aren't going on and on about how surgery interferes with God's will and how much money you're making."

"And I take it you don't agree with the surgery part," Horatio said.

"After what I went through?" she pointed out sourly, taking a sip of her drink.

"I don't understand," Calleigh said.

Sandra shrugged. "Short of the long, by the time I was twenty I was a size G bust, which was on a five-foot-four frame and I was starting to have back problems because of the weight on my chest." She saw Ryan, Frank, and Eric's eyes go wide and Natalia and Calleigh flinch in sympathy. Horatio already knew the story. "I was given the chance to have breast reduction surgery done at no cost, which turned out to be medically necessary because when they went in, they found what turned out to be several cancerous cysts."

"So the surgery not only saved your back, it also saved your life," Frank said.

"You got it. I was brought down to a nice 34 C and when I went in for a check-up recently, there was no indication of cancer, so they got 'em all," Sandra said.

"That's good to hear," Calleigh said.

Just then, Nick Brown came out of the men's restroom and Sandra muttered under her breath, "Wonder what took him so long. Probably trying to make sure he's got gear for nooky."

The group grinned. "And what are his chances?" Calleigh asked.

Sandra looked at Horatio and said, "Can I tangle with you instead? You're much more fun." She was only half serious, or at least that's what she told herself.

He had spent so much time crashing on her couch since Marisol's death that she'd finally gotten smart, checked his clothing one morning when he'd been in the shower, and gotten him four pairs of suits, shirts, underthings, and at least two pairs of pyjama bottoms that she had stuck in her closet for him. He had been quietly appreciative of that and had taken her out to dinner one night as a way of saying thank-you.

He grinned at her and said, "Oh, I think something can be worked out."

It took Nick a few minutes to spot her and when he did, the look on his face was not nice. He came over to them and stood behind Sandra and politely said, "I see you've found some friends, I assume."

Sandra grunted and said, "Yup. They invited me to join them while you were busy doing your thing." She didn't even look up at him nor did she introduce him to the group. Instead, she moved a bit closer to Horatio and leaned forward, her arm brushing his. He did the same and Sandra fought the familiar tingle that went up her spine at his contact. _Some things never grow old,_ she thought absently.

"Ah. Well, I'm Nick Brown, Sandra's date for the evening," Nick said formally.

"And that date is over, Nick," she said.

Nick's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

Finally she turned around to look at him and said, "Look, I don't think things are going to work between us. I think it's best if we ended things here and now. I'll pay for my drink, you pay for yours and I'm going to stay here. What you do is up to you but this date is over."

"But I thought things were going swimmingly," Nick whined.

"I guess you like it when your date doesn't say more than ten words in fifteen minutes," she shot back, turning her back to him. She signalled the waitress, who came over. "Refill on the Spanish coffee, please and thank you," she said.

"What about me?" Nick whined again. "I took you out, bought you drinks. That's got to count for something."

Sandra felt her jaw dropping even as she watched the others do the same. Then she looked at Nick and said, "Do yourself a favour; get your hearing checked! I just told you I'd pay for my own drink! I don't owe you a damn thing! This date is over, Nick! Good-bye!"

"Nick," Horatio said quietly. He held up his badge, face towards the man, and watched as Frank got the hint and took his out as well, along with Eric, Ryan, Calleigh, and Natalia. No words were spoken but Nick got the hint as if he'd been hit in the face with a thick steel beam. Sulking, the man left and Sandra sighed with relief.

"I owe you one," she whispered to Horatio.

"Talk about it later," he whispered back.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Don't get your hopes up just yet; Sandra still has a bit more to go but I promise you, she and Horatio will wind up together.

**Chapter 18**

They stayed at the bar for nearly an hour after Nick left, just chatting and laughing. When Eric, Ryan, Frank, Calleigh, and Natalia finally left, so did Horatio and Sandra. They didn't go straight home. Instead, at Horatio's suggestion, they headed for a local beach area they both knew, and just walked.

They chatted some more about everything and everything. He told her what was going on at work, how he suspected Eric was still having some memory trouble and about the newest detective on the scene these days, Jake Berkeley, who had been an ATF undercover agent for a while. She told him about the fun she was having, trying to keep two very hyperactive, boy-crazy girls under control at the store while trying to get the latest merchandise set up and out in a timely fashion. The girls were okay and did their job well; they were just boy-crazy beyond belief, at least in Sandra's opinion. Their current Poster Boy was Tom Welling of _Smallville_.

As dusk fell and night came, they eventually made their way back to Horatio's car. At work he drove the Hummer, but when he was off-duty, he had a nice dark blue 2006 Saturn ION four-door Sedan. They were half-way back to his car when Mother Nature decided to pull a fast one and cut loose with a shower that was hard and fast. Within moments both Sandra and Horatio were soaked as they ran the rest of the way back to his car, laughing and giggling.

Horatio noticed Sandra was struggling with the seatbelt and reminded himself yet again to have that thing looked at.

"Having trouble with that?" he asked.

"Yeah, kind of," she admitted.

He leaned over to fix the belt and his arm and chest brushed her breasts, which were peaking due to the fact that she was starting to shiver.

She froze. So did he.

He was so close, she realized; she could pick up the faint smell of his aftershave and see the five-o'clock shadow that was starting to develop on his face.

A lock of his hair fell in his face and she automatically reached up to brush it out of his face.

His eyes darkened at the touch.

Neither of them were sure who made the first move but when their mouths met, it was a hesitant kiss at first; tentative, questioning, tasting. They parted, looked at each other, and the next kiss was less hesitant, more exploratory. When they finally came up for air, her hands were buried in his hair and his hands cradled her face.

Sandra looked at him, biting her lower lip and his hand moved, thumb sweeping across her bottom lip, making her shiver at the sensation. "I don't, I don't want to be alone tonight," she whispered. And she didn't. She was lonely, both physically and emotionally, and yes, she and Horatio had been friends for a long time but once, one night, long ago, they had been lovers. She had never really forgotten that night and it had been the basis of her comparison with the few other guys she'd slept with over the years. None had come close.

"Neither do I," he said.

"Come home with me?"

"If I do that, Sandra, I'm not going to guarantee I'll stay on the couch." He meant it too; it had been a while since he'd been with anyone and right now Sandra looked so damn sexy it was incredible. He could feel the blood rushing to his groin and had to fight with the urge to remove Sandra's jacket and push down the straps of her bra and camisole to get at the skin underneath. _It had been a while and that last time, it had been good,_ he remembered. _And that kiss… she has definitely gotten better at that._

"I was hoping you wouldn't," she replied, looking at him shyly.

"I can't give you forever," he cautioned her. "Not until I know the Mala Noche can't hurt me or mine."

"I understand," she said. "Besides, I wasn't asking for forever, just for tonight."

"I can do that," he said, setting himself back in his seat.

At Sandra's condo, she said, "I need a shower; I'm freezing." Just before she entered the bathroom, she looked at him, gave him a shy smile again, and said, "You're welcome to join me; we could conserve hot water that way."

Sandra was in the shower, a large glass stall shower that she loved, with warm water cascading over her and lost in her own thoughts, wondering if Horatio would join her, when she heard the bathroom door open. Through the growing steam, she saw Horatio enter the bathroom sans jacket, belt missing, and shirt open.

"Sandra, are you sure?" he asked.

She opened the shower door and held out her hand to him. With a growing hunger, she watched him strip, even as he never took his eyes off her. Then he was in the shower, the door shut, and he was in her arms and she forgot about everything except him. She forgot about tomorrow, forgot about forever; there was only him.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **sorry for the delay; got a teething baby boy who is showing signs of having his two front teeth come through within the next week. Poor baby; not fun for anyone, lol. In the mean time, thanks for your patience and your reviews as always.

**Chapter 19**

_Ten months ago:_

Horatio watched as Sandra's jaw dropped. He couldn't say he blamed her; after all, she was staring at a 911 Turbo Cabriolet Porsche in Ruby Red Metallic and that was quite a luxury-type car.

"How the hell am I going to be able to afford the insurance on this?" she yelped.

"Are you sure Anya sent you the right vehicle?" he asked quietly, watching as the attendant got the paperwork for her.

"That's what I'm about to call and find out!" she said, taking her cellphone out and moving off to a quiet area so she could make the call.

Anya was Anya Del Walsh, the youngest daughter of the Del Walshes and whose life Sandra had saved on that cold night so long ago. She was a good-hearted girl and unlike some members of the upper class, was not in the slightest bit snobbish. Instead, from what Sandra had told him, Anya was kind, pretty, and generous to a fault. When, during a recent phone conversation, Sandra had mentioned she was looking for a vehicle, Anya had struck a bargain with her; a slightly used car for about 2,000 plus shipping and insurance fees. Since Sandra had saved about 30,000, it had been a deal she hadn't refused. The only catch was, Anya hadn't told her the make of the car except to reassure her it was in excellent condition and very reliable. Sandra had called Horatio when she'd received word that the vehicle had arrived in Miami and they had gone down to the port by cab to pick it up and to allow Horatio to inspect it.

"Man, that is one phat car," the attendant said admiringly as he rejoined them, paperwork in hand. And it was; capable of seating four people and having the top down, it had an excellent surround sound system and durability with plenty of left-over cargo space in the trunk.

"It certainly looks like it," Horatio said. "However, I'm more concerned about safety."

"Not an issue with that baby," the attendant, a tanned guy with dark brown hair and aviator sunglasses, said. "It's got six airbags in the front alone and an anti-thief system that includes immobilization with no key in the engine. Thieves can't get at the starter from underneath the wheel cover."

"What about OnStar or GPS?" Horatio asked.

"It looks like it's got a GPS but not OnStar, not with this baby."

"Hmm," was all Horatio said. "You seem to know a lot about cars."

The attendant grinned. "I'm a bit of a car fanatic; you name it, I know it."

A moment later Sandra rejoined them, shaking her head in disbelief. "Anya just confirmed it; this is the car she sent me. She said she knew if she told me the make and model she was sending me, I might refuse it. However, she did kindly point out that since I now own it, I can do what I want with it and if I want to sell it at a later date and use the money to get a really good vehicle, then I can," she said. "I might just wind up doing that." She rubbed the back of her neck and said sheepishly, "However, I got suckered into a deal with her."

"Okay," Horatio said.

"I keep the car for one month or until I can find a vehicle that suits my purpose a bit more, enjoy it, and then I can sell it," she said. "Basically Anya wants me to enjoy myself a bit."

"You might be able to trade it," the attendant suggested. "A car like this, you trade it and you could get a pretty good vehicle trade-off in return."

"Any suggestions?" she asked, looking at him.

"What do you like?" he asked.

She looked sheepishly at the two men and admitted, "I admit I'm a bit partial to a truck, especially the ones that can hold four passengers, but I admit I also like my comfort."

The attendant grinned. "A hard-working lady like you? In that case, you might find the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 to your liking, especially the luxury version."

Horatio raised an eyebrow at that. "It's a General Motors brand, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yup, which means OnStar is built right into it," the attendant said.

"Something to seriously consider," Sandra said.

As they drove out of the area in the car, paperwork completed, signed, and payment made, Sandra muttered to herself, "I have got to be out of my mind."

Horatio just grinned at her. "Enjoy it while you can but may I strongly suggest you get a wheel lock?"

"Was already planning on it," she said. "I appreciate Anya sending me this but I'm trying to keep a low profile and this sure as heck ain't low profile."

"She's got a good heart."

"That she does. How do you think I wound up with that signed _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix _movie poster with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint's signatures on it?" she asked. "She knows I like the books and the movies so she managed to attend the movie premier party and got that for me. Heck of a nice surprise. Then, to top that off, she also got me a signed copy of _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_. How the hell she managed that, I don't know."

"You may want to seriously consider putting insurance on those," he commented.

"I'm starting to seriously consider it but who the heck would I talk to?" she asked. "I know about car and house insurance, but insurance for signed movie posters? Isn't that a different subject all together?" She ignored the cat-calls and the whistles they were generating from passer-by's as they made their way through Miami's traffic.

"I think I know someone who might be able to give you a hand with that," he said. "Let me see what I can find out for you."

"Much appreciated, as always." She flashed him a warm smile and he smiled back. "For now, I think, how about we enjoy this? After all, how often do we get to drive in a luxury-class car like this, especially with the weather as nice as it is today?"

"Sounds good to me," he said, leaning back and relaxing in his seat.

"Lunch?"

"Olive Garden?"

"Done and done."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Thank you all for your kind reviews and after this I hope things will pick up a bit. If there's anything you'd like to see please let me know and I will do what I can. :D

**Chapter 20**

_Nine months ago:_

When Horatio came out of the lab building, he spotted Sandra standing next to a large silver-colored truck and looking a bit sheepish. He also noticed a lot of male cops eyeing both the truck and Sandra with appreciation; not that he could blame them for looking at Sandra. After all, he probably knew better than anyone what she looked like under those clothes of hers.

He smiled fondly to himself at the memory of the last time they'd been together. He'd never known shower sex could be so interesting and he had also found out Sandra had developed quite a healthy appetite for sex, considering she'd jumped him in the early hours of the morning, not that he had complained.

_She completes me,_ he realized. _Damn the Mala Noche and damn the fact that, age-wise, she's too young for me. It wouldn't be fair to tie her down to an old bastard like me,_ he thought yet again.

Sandra had had fun with the Porsche but had done some serious research during that time on Horatio's recommendation. She had found a dealership that was willing to trade the Porsche for a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Crew Cab, something the dealer had been quite eager to do, especially given the condition of the car.

Now he grinned at her. "Nice truck," he said, studying the vehicle. It was an impressive-looking vehicle and he knew of a certain Texan who would be drooling in the worst way.

She blushed. "Bit of a big truck for a girl like me, I know, but I like it and it's got a good safety rating," she said.

"OnStar?" he asked.

"Built in and within easy reach."

"Good to know."

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What? You want to put a GPS system in there as well in case I go missing?" she quipped.

"That would be appreciated," he said.

She groaned. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," he said.

"Lunch if you've got the time?"

"Sounds good."

"How's everyone doing?" she asked as she drove through Miami to their favourite lunch spot.

"Well, Frank isn't having a good day," he said. "A hot-water tank exploded from a smouldering house fire, which we are looking at as being possibly arson, and it crashed on his car, which was brand-new."

"How does a hot-water tank explode?" she asked curiously.

"Too much heat and too much pressure and you have a hot-water tank rocket. Frank just happened to be parked in the wrong spot."

She winced. "Poor Frank. His insurance company is gonna love him for that."

"Technically it was an accident," he pointed out.

"Sure, but the question is, does that kind of accident get covered?" she asked, grinning. "And how much of it is the insurance agent going to believe? Unless, of course, there are witness statements."

"There are plenty of those. Several firefighters, plus myself and a few other patrol officers, saw the accident."

"That's good. Besides, how was poor Frank gonna know a hot-water tank was gonna blow, of all things?"

"Exactly."

She just grinned and shook her head. "Poor Frank."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **Decided to go for a triple shot this time; three chapters at once. Thanks for all the reviews and your patience.

**Chapter 21**

_Four months ago:_

Sandra stared at Horatio, her jaw hanging open. He was over at her place where she was making him dinner and he had just told her he had just found out he had a sixteen year-old son by the name of Kyle Harmon. Kyle was currently facing charges of kidnapping and stealing. Yelina and DNA had confirmed that Kyle was indeed his son.

"Where the heck is his mother?" Sandra yelped, referring to Julia Winston.

"From what I understand, Julia left him with her mother and took off. He eventually wound up in foster care."

"And Julia never told you?"

"The only thing she had was my undercover name, John Walden, when I was on a Special Task Force about sixteen years ago," he admitted.

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"How do you feel about the whole thing?" she asked as she placed a bowl of fresh salad and tomato pasta on the table. "I know you want kids and all that but something tells me that wasn't quite what you intended."

As he served himself, he voiced his concerns.

"It's a bit of a shock, I admit to that. I wish Julia had told me but there's nothing that can be done about it now."

"Spilled milk and all that, huh?" she asked, putting seasoned boneless chicken and pasta sauce on the table.

"That's right. I think he's a good kid; life just hasn't been too kind to him and he hasn't made some good choices. I just hope I can do right by him."

"Well here's to hoping a bit of positive influence will help," she said as she joined him at the table.

"Likewise. Did Steve Raye finally ask you out?" he asked, referring to a rookie cop who had hesitantly asked him about Sandra the last time he'd seen the two of them together at a recent MDPD charity picnic event.

"He did, after nearly falling over his feet stammering," she said, grinning.

"You do have that effect on a lot of guys."

"Bullshit. There's nothing special about me that would have a grown guy stammering, especially not with the beach bunnies I've seen around Miami," she shot back.

"You're too hard on yourself," he said, knowing they'd had this conversation on many occasions. It always ended the same way.

"Maybe so, but after spending nearly a year looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing nothing but scars, some things don't go away very easily," she reminded him yet again.

"That's only what you see; that's not what others see."

She smiled at him and asked, "How many times are we going to have this argument?"

"As many times as it takes to get you to listen to me," he replied.

"Not gonna happen."

"We'll see."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_Two months ago:_

When Horatio opened the door in response to the knock, he wasn't in the slightest bit surprised to see Sandra standing there. He was surprised to see her standing there in her favourite Garfield shirt, which said, "_I just want revenge! Is that so wrong?_", Garfield-print sleep boxer shorts, and her favourite terry robe.

"Hey," he said, allowing her in. He himself was in his pyjama bottoms and robe as it was late in the evening.

"Hey yourself," she said. She saw what looked like case files spread out on the coffee table and asked, "Working late again?"

"When am I not?" he asked, getting her a cup of coffee.

"You work too hard."

"Got to work hard to catch the bad guys."

"True. Spare a minute?"

"Always," he said, handing her the coffee. "What can I do for you?"

"Convince me I'm not going out of my mind," she said, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Okay."

"You know I've been seeing Steve for about the last two months, right?"

"I do," he said as he refilled his own coffee mug. He thought Steve was okay but a bit of seasoning and a few hard knocks with a swift dose of reality might do the rookie cop a bit of good.

"Well, I've only been out with him maybe five or six times and, I dunno, he seems to be wanting to get pretty serious pretty fast," she said.

"How so?" he asked, concerned as he joined her.

"Wants to come over to my place and spend the night, wants to be exclusive, that sort of stuff."

"Have you slept with him yet?" he asked, not sure why that bothered him. _You can't have her!_ he told himself firmly. _She's too young, remember? And what the Mala Noche would do to her...  
_

"Once, and it was more pity sex than anything else," she admitted, shuddering at the memory.

"Okay. Why has he not seen your place?"

"Because it's my sanctuary, Horatio, and other than you, no guy has ever spent the night at my place," she replied. "Two months, that's just not enough time."

"I agree." He had to suppress the thrill that raced through him at knowing he was the only guy who'd ever shared her bed, never mind her couch.

"Am I crazy for wanting to go slow?" she asked, biting her lip. "Steve's a good man in his own right, but…"

Horatio thought carefully about his next words. Sandra deserved a chance to be happy but if she felt that Steve was going to fast after only six dates, then she probably had some valid concerns.

"I don't think you're crazy, Sandra. You're a very private person by nature and it sounds to me as if Steve is going too fast and wanting too much too soon. He's essentially invading your space, so to speak."

"You got that right," she said sourly. Steve was a problem, all right, but the sight in front of her was quite enjoyable. She remembered that chest well, very well in fact. The only reason she'd gotten through the sex with Steve was because she'd mentally planted Horatio firmly in his place. Afterwards she'd felt guilty about that; it was Steve she was dating, not Horatio, but it was Horatio she'd wanted.

_And I only went out with Steve to get my mind off Horatio!_ she thought. _With the Mala Noche hovering over his head, I want what I can't have!_

"My suggestion is to suggest to Steve you need some space and time and you won't be available for a bit," Horatio said.

"Tourist season is going to be in full swing in about a week," she said thoughtfully. "The store usually gets pretty busy for about two months, which means so do I. Plus I just got word from the higher-ups that we just bought the space next to us and we're going to be expanding to nearly twice the size we are now."

"Good." He looked at her. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think I just need some space from Steve, that's all." She finished off the last of her coffee and said, "Thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome, as always."

He walked her to his door and once there, she reached up and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. Then, deciding to take a chance, she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Screw Steve. If it weren't for the damned Mala Noche, I'd be all over you like butterscotch ice cream syrup and you'd never be able to get rid of me."

He looked at her with something akin to shock on his face and she was afraid she'd really blown things. But then he hauled her into his arms and kissed her hard, leaving her knees weak and her heart pounding.

"Run, run while you still can, or I may just forget about the damned Mala Noche and make you forget about Steve Raye," he whispered harshly in her ear, his own breathing raspy. "Because if I claim you, Sandra, I claim you for good and I don't let go. Run!"

And he pushed her away before fairly slamming the door on her, leaving her staring after him in shock.

Once again she thought, _Damn the Mala Noche, damn them!_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

_Three weeks later:_

"Excuse me? Sir?" a male voice called from behind Horatio as he made his way towards Frank's desk to discuss a current homicide case.

"Hmm?" Horatio turned around and spotted none other than Steve Raye heading towards him. Steve was in uniform so he was clearly on duty. "Can I help you, Mr. Raye?"

"Yeah. You and Sandra seem to be pretty close, or at least that's what I hear around here," Steve said.

"We're good friends, Mr. Raye, and have been for a number of years. What of it?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips casually.

"Do you know why she's avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you?" he repeated, slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, she rarely answers her cell, takes forever to return my calls, and when I do catch her on her cell, she sounds rushed off her feet," Steve said. "Plus she's repeatedly turned me down for a date, saying she's way too busy right now. I think she's avoiding me and I want to know why."

"Mr. Raye," Horatio said patiently, "it's tourist season. Sandra is a store manager for a very popular, top-of-the-line clothing store that is in the process of expanding to nearly twice it's size. She's been so busy even I haven't seen much of her as of late."

"So? Can't she delegate?"

"Mr. Raye, if there's one thing I know about Sandra, it is that she's a very hands-on manager. She will not ask her staff to do anything she's not willing to do herself," Horatio said, knowing this to be very true. It was some advice he'd given her not long after she'd been officially made manager of the store some time ago and she'd taken it to heart. "As for avoiding you, perhaps you should simply allow her some space and some time."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, puzzled.

"Sandra, Sandra is a very private person. I've known her for nearly seven years, Mr. Raye, and we have been neighbours for just as long. It took me a year to find out what her favourite fruit was, never mind her favourite ice cream flavour," Horatio replied.

"Butterscotch swirl," Steve said instantly.

Horatio smiled and shook his head. "No. She likes that one but it's not her ultimate favourite. I know she keeps a carton of the stuff in her freezer at all times. You'll have to be patient and find out."

"That's if she ever lets me near her damn place," Steve grumbled.

"And if you keep pushing, you never will," Horatio cautioned.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Steve asked suspiciously.

"Because I care about her and I want to see her happy," Horatio replied, knowing that was the truth. He just wasn't so sure Steve was the guy who would make her happy. After that kiss in the hallway and her whispered comment to him, he wasn't sure about anything anymore, especially in regards to Sandra. He'd had a hell of a fight on his hands, after he'd shut the door on her, to not open the door, drag her to his bed, and make love to her until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.

"If you care about her so damned much, why don't you take her?" Steve snapped.

Horatio looked at the younger man, blue eyes turning cold, and replied, "If I do choose to finally take Sandra as mine, I can guarantee, Mr. Raye, I can guarantee I'll be treating her better than you are." And with that, he turned his back on him and walked away.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **We are getting there, I promise!

**Chapter 24**

_Two weeks ago:_

As Horatio raced towards the lab, his mind went back to the phone call he'd just received. Sandra had just called him from the lab Reception desk and tiredly asked him to come and pick her up. It was a long story but it involved Steve, a kindly elderly biker, and a dead cell phone, namely hers. She had promised to explain everything once he got there.

When he pulled up to the lab, he spotted Sandra sitting outside, barefoot, dress sandals dangling in her hand. She looked wind-swept, tired, and generally fed up with life.

"Sandra!" he called, getting out of his car so she could see him. She did, and when she did, she waved and stood up and began to hobble towards him. He quickly spotted the reason for her hobbling; red, raw skin on her bare feet.

"Stay there!" he said, moving rapidly towards her. She yelped in surprise when he scooped her up but managed to hold on tight. "What happened to you?" he demanded as he carried her towards the car.

"Steve dumped and left me at some place called Clover's Point," she said bitterly.

"He did what?" he growled as he got her in the car.

"You heard me," she said tiredly. "He dumped me and left me at Clover's Point. I had about a two mile walk to the nearest gas station and even that place was a joke."

He got in the driver's side of the car, ready to kill Steve, or at least inflict some serious damage to the younger man's face. "You said your cell phone was dead?" he asked, trying to rein in his temper for Sandra's sake.

"Yeah. I've been so badly rushed off my feet as of late that I forgot to charge it last night and it died on me while I was at Clover's Point. The only reason I even found the gas station was because my GPS still worked," she said, referring to her Garmin eTrex Legend handheld GPS she had bought on Horatio's advice about a year ago. "I love that thing."

"That's good. How did you get to the lab?" he asked as he drove through the city towards their place.

"Because my cell was dead, which means I couldn't access your number, I was pretty much stuck, and the gas station payphone was dead. The attendant was a jerk and refused to let me call a cab from inside," she said. He scowled at that. "There was an elderly biker gentleman outside, nice guy by the name of Butch, and he and I struck up a deal; I paid for a full tank of gas for his bike and he gave me a lift to the Lab."

"That was good of him," he said. "You were damned lucky."

"Believe me, I know. I've heard the stories and I'm having some serious considerations about screaming at Steve's supervisor as soon as I'm feeling human enough," she said sourly.

"Not if I get there first," he growled.

"What happened between you and Steve?" he asked, making a quick detour to a drive-through coffee place.

"We had a heck of an argument. He wanted a permanent relationship, wanted me to commit to him and I told him I didn't have the time or the energy to do that right now," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I'm working six days a week right now as it is and even though tourist season is almost over, the store is expanding and it takes time to hire and train new staff." He nodded, understanding as he placed their orders. "He got pissy, especially when it became clear I wasn't really into a make-out session with him, accused me of lying and sleeping with you, all in one sentence."

Horatio scowled as he handed her a cup of hot coffee, to which she nodded her thanks. "What did you tell him?" he asked as he resumed heading for the condo complex.

"Told him to get his head out of his ass, stop being such an egoistical jerk, and that you and I had been friends for a long time, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't believe me, said he was a cop and everyone cheats sooner or later; he'd seen it happen often enough."

"Damn. How did you wind up walking?"

"There's a bit of a picnic bench at Clover's Point and that's where we were seated when the argument started. After I told him to stop being stupid about things and wake up and realize that not every woman is going to fall over her feet to be with him just because he wears a damn uniform, he stormed off," she said, taking a sip of her coffee and sighing in pleasure as the raspberry chocolate-flavoured coffee made it's way down to her stomach. "I waited a few minutes, trying to calm down, but that turned out to be a very stupid thing to do as the next thing I heard was him driving off. I raced up to where his car had been parked and sure enough, the only thing I could see was the dirt plumes from his car as he drove away, the bastard."

"_Son of a bitch,_" he muttered angrily under his breath.

"Once I realized my cell was dead, I used my GPS to figure out where I was and I started walking," she continued. "The rest you know."

"Steve and I are going to have some words in the morning," he said coldly.

She grunted tiredly. "I'd say play nice but I know that's going to fall on deaf ears. Right now I just want a bath, some clean clothes, and new feet."

"I can arrange for the bath and clean clothes but not the new feet, I'm afraid," he said. He parked the car and, before she could get out, came over and helped her out. Then he picked her up in his arms again and made his way towards the building underground elevator that would take them up to their places. He put her down in the elevator and she leaned against him tiredly. "Want me to draw you up a bath while you clean your face and hair?" he asked, knowing she hated to go to bed with make-up on and hairspray in her hair.

"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you," she said, smiling tiredly at him.

As Horatio ran the bath, he poured in a generous helping of Neroli Jasmine bubble bath, a favourite of Sandra's from the Body Shop, and made sure a bath lily was near by. Spotting her oil burner in the bathroom, he picked up the oil, something called Cassis Rose, and added it to the oil tray before lighting a fresh tea light underneath. Then he got a hot cup of coffee and put it within easy reach of the tub. When Sandra came into the bathroom wearing only her robe and her hair twisted up in a clip, she smiled at the sight.

"What's next?" she quipped, "a back scrub?"

Leaning against the bathroom vanity, he smiled back and said, "You only have to ask." He watched as she turned her back to him, dropped her robe, and stepped into the tub, moaning softly. Try as he might, the blood rushed to his groin and it was only by shifting himself did he manage to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.

She looked at him and smirked, knowing full-well the effect she had on him. It was a bit of a badly needed boost to her ego, especially tonight. "You said something about asking? Well, I'm asking."

"Yes ma'am," he said, moving to the tub and picking up the wash cloth. Her tub, more of a Jacuzzi than anything else, was a large, triangular-shaped step-in tub and he could easily reach her head. Working slowly he began to gently massage her neck and shoulders with the cloth.

"You going to be okay?" he asked softly.

She leaned back tiredly and said, "In time. Right now I'm more mad than I am anything else. If Steve was as good a cop as he claimed, he would have known better than to leave me alone in a desert area like that, pissed off or not. That was asking for trouble."

He nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder. "What are you going to do?"

"Not much I can do, at least nothing that I can think of right off the top of my head," she said. "Right now I just want to get through the next few days until I can get my two days off. After that, I don't know."

"Okay. May I make a suggestion?"

"I'm listening."

"What Steve did was dangerous; if you have no objections, I will speak with his supervisor about that and express my concerns about his behaviour," he said.

"Will it do any good?"

"It might. Just like Billy Dawson, the sooner the behaviour is caught and dealt with, the sooner it stops. The next girl Steve deals with might not be so lucky."

"Good point. Have fun but don't hurt the jerk too badly. Prick or not, we need all the cops we can get." She relaxed as Horatio continued to bath her, slowly washing her arms, neck, and chest but avoiding her breasts (damn him!), even as he worked his way down to her tummy. "I think _Superman Returns _is on the movie channel tonight," she said.

He smiled. Her mentioning the movie channel was her way of subtly asking him to spend the night. "Let me get my pyjama bottoms and some clean clothes, or should I not bother with the clean clothes?"

"You know the answer to that; I've still got four clean suits in my closet for you."

"Good to know," he said, smiling, "especially since I've got a court appearance later in the day."

She grunted and then said, "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"Always, Sandra, always."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **Thanks again for all the kind reviews and I assure you, I'm typing as fast as my son and my hands will allow me, lol.

**Chapter 25**

_The next day:_

When Calleigh saw Horatio heading towards his office, she knew something was wrong. Everything about him said he was angry about something and trying hard to keep it under wraps. Since she usually got stuck trying to defuse situations she decided to head him off and find out what was going on.

"Good morning," she chirped cheerfully.

He smiled when he saw her. "Good morning, Calleigh," he replied.

"Excuse me if I'm being nosy, but you look like you're ready to put a bullet in someone," she said. "If you don't mind my asking, who did what?"

"That obvious, hmm?" he asked, ducking his head slightly.

"I'm afraid so."

He nodded. "A guy Sandra was seeing put her in a very dangerous position last night. He left her at Clover's Point with no means of transportation and a dead cell phone after a rather nasty argument."

"He did _what?_" Calleigh yelped. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She had her hand-held GPS with her but she had to walk about two miles in dress sandals to the nearest gas station. She was fortunate enough to get a ride to the lab by a kind elderly biker when she offered to pay for a full tank of gas for his bike. He dropped her off at the lab, where she called me and I picked her up from there," Horatio said.

"She was lucky, very lucky," Calleigh said. She knew Horatio cared about Sandra and was very protective of her. She suspected Horatio cared more about Sandra than he actually let on or even possibly realized. What he didn't know was that there were bets flying around the lab about how long it would take before he and Sandra realized just how much they cared about each other and made things a little more serious than just mere friendship.

"Very lucky," Horatio said. "The problem is, Calleigh, the problem is this guy, Steve Raye, he is a _cop._ He should have known better."

"And you want to go after him and tear him from limb to limb," she guessed.

He smiled tightly. "Something like that."

"What was the argument about, do you know?"

"It seems Mr. Raye wants to get serious and Sandra is too busy with work right now to commit to a serious relationship at this point, especially as she has not known Mr. Raye long enough in her opinion."

"And he dumped her practically in the middle of nowhere over _that?_" Horatio nodded. "May I make a suggestion?"

"I'm listening."

"Let me talk to Ryan. He was a patrol officer, remember?"

"I do."

"Ryan's told me a few tales about some guys who've done a few things, nothing that they could be charged with, but dangerous situations netherless. He said that when word got out amongst the cops, the problem was, well, _dealt with_, as he said. Something about honour among the cops."

"Okay."

"We tell him what happened to Sandra and I think Sandra may be getting an apology in the near future."

"What this about Sandra getting an apology?" came Frank's voice as he joined them, having over-heard part of the conversation. Horatio repeated what he had told Calleigh and Frank's face darkened. "_Jackass_. How many women have we seen dead because of similar situations?" he snarled. He had a thing about Sandra, especially as she had once lent him her truck for a while when he was having trouble getting a new car and his insurance straightened out because of an exploding hot-water tank. All she'd asked was that, when he brought the truck back, make sure she could at least see the paint and the gas tank was more or less full. Her reason for the offer was simple; she wanted to be sure the truck could handle rough roads and she was, at the time, not doing anything that warranted much use of the truck.

"Too many," Horatio said.

"Way too many," Calleigh said, agreeing. "Shall I talk to Ryan?"

"Please do," Horatio said.

When Ryan was told about what happened to Sandra, he was not happy. "It's not something we can charge the guy with, but I think I know how to put a stop to this," he said. "Is Sandra okay?"

"Horatio says she's fine, aside from sore feet," Calleigh said.

With his arm across his middle and rubbing his lip, Ryan nodded thoughtfully. "Any idea what the argument was about?"

"He wanted to get serious, she didn't." Ryan looked at her, his eyebrows going up. "You heard me."

"Huh."

"Think this can be dealt with?"

"Let me see what I can do."

When several of the patrol officers heard what had happened, the reactions ranged from disgust to anger. When they found out what Sandra did for a living, one officer groaned.

"I know that store all too well," he groaned. "So does my paycheck!" When he was given several looks of puzzlement, he waved his right hand, on which sat a gold wedding band. "My wife and daughter," he reminded them.

"Same here," said another officer. "I swear my daughter spends her entire allowance at that store."

"And they're expanding," Ryan said. "I understand they bought the space next to them and the store is in the process of doubling in size."

"Oh god," groaned the first officer.

"Is Ms. Sinise okay?" another officer asked.

"I'm told she's okay, aside from sore feet," Ryan replied. "Think this can be dealt with?"

There were several nods. "Mr. Raye will be going for a little trip in the near future," said the second officer, a dark look on his face. "Clover's Point, you said?" Ryan nodded. "I know that place."

"Let's make sure he does remember to apologize to Sandra," Ryan said.

"Oh he will, trust us, he will," another officer said. "The condition he'll be in when he does, that's a different story."

"I don't want to know," Ryan said. "The less I know, the better."

"Sounds good," said the first officer.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **okay, things are going to heat up here by a bit. Then Horatio's second trip to Brazil is going to come into the picture...

**Chapter 26**

_Five days later:_

Horatio didn't bother knocking when he entered Sandra's apartment. It was early in the morning and he knew she had a day off. He also knew she had a tendency to sleep in when it was her day off. Sure enough, he found her face-down, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed. Also on the bed were her two cats, Moe and Bear. Moe lifted her head and meowed at him before going back to sleep.

Grinning, he went into the kitchen and got a cup of hot coffee from the coffee maker that she had actually bothered to remember to set the night before. Then, coffee in hand, he went back to her bedroom and waved the coffee under her nose. It took about ten seconds before she cracked one eye open.

"Coffee," she grunted.

"That's right," he said. "And it's yours on one condition."

"What?"

"You get your swimsuit on and be ready to leave in fifteen minutes," he said.

"What for?"

"We're going sailing."

"We are?"

"Mm-hmm. Alexx has invited us to go sailing with her and her family today. We have to be at the dock by about nine, which means we need to leave by eight-thirty."

"What time is it now?"

"Eight-ten." She opened her other eye and stared at him sleepily. "Fifteen minutes or no coffee," he said.

"Bossy," she mumbled, rolling over on her back.

"I have to be; I run a crime lab."

She sighed heavily, sat up and said, "Okay, okay, I'm up. Coffee, hand over." She held out her hand.

"Out of bed," he said, keeping the mug out of reach.

She groaned. "You're not going to make things easy, are you?"

"Why should I?"

"Because you're supposed to be a nice person?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh I am, when I chose to be," he replied grinning. He watched as she climbed out of her bed, a bed he was very familiar with, having spent more than one night in it and more than one night in her arms. He remembered those nights well, too well in fact. _What's going to happen now, _he wondered, _now that Steve Raye is no longer in the picture?_

"Fine," she grumbled, getting out of bed.

He grinned when he saw her sleepshirt; a bright fuchsia one with Jim Benton's Happy Bunny and the words, _Me pretending to listen should be enough for you_ on it_. _"Cute," he said.

"Thank you," she said as she moved towards her closet. She eyed his get-up; tan-coloured cargo shorts, button-up short-sleeved shirt with his customary sunglasses tucked in the neck, and deck shoes. "Are you wearing a swim-suit under that?" she asked, taking out a t-shirt with Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Batgirl on it and the words, _Anything boys can do girls can do better! _ He already knew she had a penchant for that sort of stuff and found the shirt amusing. She also took out a pair of denim cut-off shorts and a black one-piece swimsuit.

"That I am," he replied. "And you are not wearing that," he said, referring to the swim suit.

She blinked. "I'm not?"

"No. You have a perfectly good two-piece. We are going sailing and you are going to relax, forget about Steve, forget about everything except having some fun," he replied.

"Doesn't Alexx have kids?" she asked.

"She does and your bikini is modest by Miami standards if that's what you're worried about."

"Okay, okay, alright, the bikini it is," she grumbled, getting the aforementioned bikini out from her closet. It was a nice Victoria's Secret teal-coloured bikini with a scoop bottom and a full-coverage under-wire halter top. "You gonna stand there and watch or what?" she shot back, turning her back to him and reaching for the hem of her sleepshirt; he didn't know she wore underwear under her sleepwear because of his habit of showing up unexpectedly either at night or in the morning.

She fairly jumped out of her skin when he suddenly came up behind her, placed his hands on her now-bare hips, yanked her against him, and whispered in her ear, "Remember my warning. I can only take so much and if you push too hard, I may say damn everything and take you for myself, _permanently._"

"Like that would be a bad thing?" she shot back, trying to look at him over her shoulder.

"The last time I did, someone died."

Sandra spun around and smacked him in the chest with both hands. "Stop blaming yourself for Marisol's death, you jerk!" she snapped. "You're not responsible for what happened! As for the Mala Noche, they're gonna be around whether you like it or not!"

Caught off-guard by her sudden attack, he grabbed her hands to try and stop her but lost his balance and stumbled back, nearly taking her with him. He nearly had his balance when one of the cats decided it was time to wind themselves around his ankles. The end result was both Horatio and Sandra tumbling to the floor, her on top of him. They landed with a grunt from Horatio and a shriek of surprise from Sandra.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," she shot back, pushing her hair out of her face. "Listen, Mr. Gotta-Take-On-The-Whole-World, you are _not_ responsible for every bad thing that happens in your world. You are not responsible for Marisol's death, you are not responsible for Speed's death, nor are you responsible for Eric getting shot, and don't tell me you don't blame yourself for that because I know you, remember?" He nodded. "Clavo Cruz went after Eric _and_ you because you went after him because he went after an innocent girl and took her life; he had nothing left to lose except his own life. You can't protect everyone all the time; it's just not possible."

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said, tucking her hair behind one ear. "If I lost you…" He shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it." And that was the truth, he realized. He did not want to lose Sandra. She had been his rock, his confident, and his friend. She'd held a light for him during his times of darkness and not once had she shied or turned away from him. If he lost her, he knew he'd lose a part of his soul, the part that had kept him from going down roads good men aren't meant to take.

Her face softened. "Horatio, I've been hurt before, remember? And I've walked away. I've walked away alive and I plan to stay that way," she said. "I'm not afraid; surely you've figured that out by now."

"I have," he said, sliding one arm around her waist and one hand down her bare leg; her sleepshirt had ridden up when they'd fallen.

"I'll do whatever you want me to do to make you feel more secure about my well-being but, please, no more pussyfooting," she said. "Let me in." She leaned down and gently brushed her mouth against his in a butterfly-light kiss. "_Let me in._" And she kissed him again.

One kiss became two became three and then his hand was in her hair and his arm around her waist. They rolled slightly so they lay side-by-side and the kisses continued. It was a long moment before they finally surfaced. Horatio glanced at his watch and groaned.

"Damn," he muttered, struggling to control his breathing.

"Let me guess; we're running late," she said.

"You have five minutes to get dressed," he said. "Can you do that?"

"If you don't mind feeding the furballs for me," she said, trying to get her body back under control.

"I can do that. Where's your sunblock?"

"On the table next to the balcony doors and you know where the towels are."

"That I do."

They managed to stand up but before Horatio let her go, he said, "We need to talk about this, but later."

"And we will," she said, reaching for her bikini. "This is not going to go away."

"I know." Just before he left the bedroom, back to her, he asked, "What about Steve?"

Her sleepshirt off and on the bed, and in the process of putting her bikini top on, she asked, "What about him? I only dated him to keep my mind off you."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay in up-dates; life got a bit busy, so I'll try and make up for it by popping two chapters in one shot. Thanks for all the kind reviews and your patience, as always.

**Chapter 27**

Horatio watched as Sandra splashed and laughed together with Alexx's two kids and Calleigh in the water. They were anchored at a small, quiet cove, the sky was clear, and the water was wonderful. Alexx's boat was a large, forty-foot recreational sailing boat with a white hull and dark blue trim, called the _Sea Princess._ With a teak interior and stainless steel wheel and railing, it had a forty-five foot tall center mast, spinnaker at the bow, and a swim ladder at the stern. As far as Horatio was concerned, it was a nice boat.

He thought about what Sandra had said earlier, about Marisol's death not being his fault.

After Marisol's death, he and Eric had discovered that Marisol had been meeting Riaz before she had begun dating Horatio. She had been killed, not to get at Horatio, but to prevent her from giving Horatio information to go after Riaz. She had been killed for falling in love with a cop.

He wanted to let Sandra in, God help him, he did.

Would it change things, he wondered, or would it make it better?

He tried to picture himself dating her but the only things he could see were all the dinners they'd had together.

Then another memory came to mind; a walk they had taken along the beach one night. It had been after she'd ditched her date, Nick Brown, and he and his friends had 'rescued' her.

Other memories came to mind; movie nights, when she'd snuggled against him as they watched a movie from the comfort of her bed. The time she had joined him at a Habitat For Humanity project and helped out with the painting.

Hurricane Andrew; she'd gone with Yelina and Ray Jr. and had fussed over him when he'd gotten clobbered during assisting with the mandatory evacuation.

The tsunami; he had been worried about her until she'd called him for the same reason. Their condo building had been far enough inland that she'd been safe. He still had the photograph she'd taken during that time.

Marisol and Sandra; when he'd come home that day, he'd been greeted to the sound of two women laughing hysterically. It had turned out that Sandra had told Marisol some of her more amusing customer stories and Marisol, in her turn, had related some tales about growing up with Eric.

His thoughts were interrupted by Alexx as she joined him at the railing.

Alexx had told Horatio to invite Sandra on their sailing trip after she'd heard about the business with Steve Raye. She liked Sandra, having met her on more than one occasion. She knew Sandra and Horatio were close but after watching the interaction between them over the past hour or so, she had a feeling something more was going on.

There had been lingering touches, the way Sandra had leaned towards Horatio as he spoke and more so when he spoke to her. She had not missed the hungry, sexually-aware look that had crossed Sandra's face when Horatio had stripped to his swim trunks or the way Horatio had all but caressed Sandra's bare shoulders and back as he'd applied sunblock on her.

Alexx knew Horatio had been devastated by Marisol's death and she desperately wanted him to be happy and if that person that made him happy was Sandra, then so the more better.

"Sugar," she said to him as she joined him.

"Hmm?"

"What's going on between you and Sandra?"

"What do you mean?"

She snorted. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you two were seeing each other."

"We're not."

"Why not?"

He hesitated and then said lamely, "She just broke up with Steve and we're just friends."

"Bullshit," she snapped. "That's not what I was seeing." Horatio just looked at her through his sunglasses, not sure what to say. She continued. "Look, honey, how do you feel about her, and don't lie to me or I'll nail your sorry backside."

"Can't put one past you, can I?" he asked teasingly.

"That's right. Now talk."

Horatio thought for a moment, trying to put words to feelings. "She's has, she has always been there, Alexx." He worried his bottom lip. "Even when Marisol died, she was there to help me pick up the pieces. I'm not sure how I would have managed without her support and friendship." Alexx nodded. "She was even there when Speed died. Not once has she turned away from me for anything."

"That sounds like Sandra."

He nodded. "I care about her so much, Alexx, so much."

"Does she make you happy?"

"That she does. We've had some interesting moments together."

"So make her yours," she said gently. "If she makes you happy, make her yours."

"But the Mala Noche…" he began.

"Horatio, I've never known you to be a coward. Don't let those selfish bastards stop you from being happy," she said, "because if you do, then they've won."

"I don't want to lose her," he said softly.

"Life is a risk, sugar, and loving is the biggest risk of all," she replied gently. "You took a risk with Marisol; now take a risk with Sandra, even if you only take it day by day."

"Day by day, huh?"

"Day by day, sugar, because something tells me she's got a lot of love to give." She rubbed his shoulder affectionately and said, "Take it day by day and see where it goes."

He nodded; she was right. "I can do that."

"God; now go join her before I shove you in the water myself."

He chuckled. "Yes ma'am."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Sandra watched as Horatio slipped into the water and swam over to join her and Calleigh. Her lips still tingled at their earlier kiss and her body fairly begged for Horatio to touch her again. After the kiss in the bedroom, by silent agreement, they had put the topic of their relationship on hold for now, but that hadn't stopped her private longings.

It had taken Steve Raye's behaviour to make her realize exactly what she wanted in life; she wanted Horatio and she was tired of dancing around in circles.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she said. "Everything okay?"

"It is now," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. "Calleigh!"

But Calleigh had already assessed the situation. In fact, she and Alexx had been comparing notes on them and had come to the same conclusion; Horatio and Sandra were involved and trying not to show it or they weren't involved but cared about each other more than they realized or would admit.

"Bugger off you two; we'll be just fine!" Calleigh called.

Horatio lead Sandra off to one side slightly, out of earshot of Calleigh and the kids.

As they stood in chest-deep water, Horatio took Sandra's hands in his and asked, "Do you want to take things further?"

"Yes, I do," she admitted. "I can understand your hesitation in regards to the Mala Noche, Horatio, I can understand that. Fifth Street Gang, remember?" He nodded; he did remember. "But I'm not about to let shadows stop me from what I want, and I want you."

"That's good to know," he said, drawing her closer and sliding his hands around her waist. "I can't promise it'll be easy because I'm very protective of the people I care about and I can't promise I'll stop worrying, but if you're willing, then I'm willing to go further, if we take things day by day."

He watched as her face began to light up like the rising sun before she reached up and kissed him. "Day by day, huh?" she whispered softly. "Bring it on."

When Horatio and Sandra rejoined the group, there was a noticeable change in them. For one thing, Horatio and Sandra didn't go too far from each other and for another they were a lot more affectionate with each other. They had clearly come to an agreement about something in regards to their relationship.

"Looks like Horatio took my advice and decided to do something about Sandra," Alexx quietly told Calleigh, who simply grinned at the pair.

As with all days, sooner or later they have to end. Unfortunately for Sandra, her day ended with her spotting none other than Steve Raye waiting for them at the dock of the marina where the _Sea Princess _was coming in. He was in off-duty clothes and leaning against one of the pilings.

"Oh my god," she groaned. "What the hell does that moron want?"

"I don't know; do you want me to deal with him?" Horatio asked.

"No, I'll deal with him but don't go too far in case things get nasty."

"Fair enough."

Once the boat was secure, she jumped to the dock and walked up to Steve. "What are you doing here, Steve?" she asked, not even bothering to pull on her shirt; she had pulled her shorts on only for comfort during the ride home. She folded her arms across her chest and kept a distance of at least four feet between them.

"Thought we could talk," he said.

"So talk. No guarantee I'll listen," she replied.

"You hear about what happened to me?"

She grunted. "Steve, after you left me at Clover's Point, I really don't give a damn about what happens or happened to you."

He glared at her. "A bunch of the guys jumped me and dumped me at Clover's Point without my cell. I had a two-hour walk."

"Whooptie-do. Looks like you survived."

"So did you."

"I was lucky but then again, I've heard of women who weren't so lucky."

"You had your cell with you!" he snapped.

"It was dead," she pointed out coldly.

"Well then whose fault was that?" he shot back angrily.

"Look, what's your dumping got to do with me?" she asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"The guys said it was to teach me a lesson about leaving women at isolated points and no means of getting back. The only way they could have known about that is by you," he said angrily.

She just looked at him and wondered why the heck they were having this conversation. It was a waste of time, as far as she was concerned. He was never going to learn. "Look, things are over between us. You can think whatever you want, but I had nothing to do with what happened to you. I don't care if you don't believe me or not, just leave me alone."

She turned to walk away and was content to leave it at that, until Steve opened his big mouth.

"You are one high-and-mighty bitch, aren't you?" he snapped.

That did it; Sandra'd had enough.

From the dock, Horatio, Calleigh, and Alexx watched as Sandra's posture changed and the look on her face became nasty.

"_Uh-oh_," Calleigh muttered.

"Uh-oh is right," Horatio said.

"Steve," Sandra said sweetly, meandering back towards the rookie cop, "go soak your head!" And with that, she shoved him hard.

_SPLASH!_

"You go, girl!" Alexx called to Sandra, who was glaring at Steve as he surfaced, coughing and sputtering, as Calleigh laughed and Horatio grinned.

"That was well deserved," Horatio said, still grinning.

"You're a self-centered jerk, Steve!" Sandra yelled at Steve. "Come near me again and it'll be my foot in your balls!" And with that, she stormed off to rejoin her friends.

"Feel better?" Horatio quietly asked Sandra as she snuggled against him.

"Much. Can I do that again when he gets back on land?" she asked.

"It worked the first time, but I'm not so sure it would work again," he said.

"Darn. In that case, can we get out of here before he decides to turn nasty?" she asked.

"That we can do," he said. "Hungry?"

"When am I not?" He just grinned at her. "Oh, and you know you're not going home tonight, right?"

"I'm not?"

"No, you're not. Now that the pussyfooting is past, I'm jumping you every chance I get," she whispered in his ear.

"I have no objections to that," he said. And he didn't. As a matter of fact, he realized, he was quite looking forward to it……


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **Okay, so this may not be the most sappiest of chapters I've ever written but I was trying to get Brazil trip number two out of the way. Thank you all kindly for your reviews and, once again, your patience.

**Chapter 29**

"I have to go to Brazil again," he said over the phone as he was driven to the airport with Stetler next to him and the federal marshals in the front. Stetler had permitted him to make a call to Sandra, provided he kept it short.

"_Trouble?_" Sandra asked.

"Yes, but I'm hoping things will work out," he replied.

"_Anything I can do?_"

"Pray."

"_Every night until you come home safely,_" she replied. "_Every night until you're back where you belong. If you have to do anything, do it fast, do it right, but do it and come back home faster._"

"I'll do my best."

"_See that you do. I'll be waiting._"

"Rick," he said softly after he hung up, not wanting the federal marshals to over-hear him.

"Hmm?"

"Her name is Sandra Sinise," Horatio said.

"Okay," Rick replied, not sure where this was going.

"If something goes wrong in Brazil and I don't come back, you tell Eric to make sure Sandra is safe. Do you understand me? Tell Eric to keep Sandra safe," Horatio said.

Rick looked at Horatio and realized he was serious. "What's so special about Sandra Sinise?" he asked.

"She's mine."

Rick looked at Horatio and remembered all the rumours he'd heard about Horatio and this mysterious woman he was supposedly dating, something he hadn't really done since his wife, Marisol Delko, had been killed by a Mala Noche sniper. "So the rumours are true," he said.

"What rumours?"

"That you're seeing someone," Rick said.

Horatio just looked at him. "Tell Eric to keep Sandra safe for me if I don't make it back from Brazil alive," he repeated.

_Nearly twelve hours later:_

Horatio entered Sandra's apartment, feeling tired and worn out. It had been a very, very long day for him. After he'd spoken to Chief Braga, he'd been handed a weapon and gone head-to-head with members of the Mala Noche, who blamed him for Antonio Riaz's death. Then he'd gotten back in time to find out Calleigh had been kidnapped and it had been a race against time to get her back safely. Calleigh was okay, as he'd seen her go off with Eric, but whether or not she would be okay in the long run, only time would tell.

During all this he'd only had time to leave a brief message on Sandra's cell, simply stating that he was back, would see her when he got home, and would explain everything.

Right now he felt like he needed a hot shower and a cup of coffee and then some badly needed sleep.

He and Sandra had been officially dating for nearly a week and a half and so far it had been pretty good. They had kept to their usual dinner routine but Sandra had been a lot more affectionate and he had responded in kind, no longer feeling the restrictions of being just friends.

"Meow," came a familiar feline voice. Horatio looked down and spotted none other than Moe staring up at him. "Meow," she said again in her best Pet-Me-Now voice. For some reason Moe had taken to him and while he didn't mind that, he did mind the fact that she seemed to like trying to sleep on his suit jackets.

He smiled and reached down to scratch the cat behind her ears. "Hey," he said. "Sandra around?"

Instead of replying, she moved down the hallway towards the bedroom. In the bedroom he found Sandra asleep, a reading lamp on, casting a warm glow over her face.

_She's so beautiful,_ he thought. _I think I'll just grab a shower and then join her; no need to wake her up._

Moving as quietly as he could, he stripped and headed for the bathroom to have a shower and get rid of the day's grime.

He had just washed his hair and was starting to soap himself down when he heard the bathroom door open.

"Horatio?" Sandra called sleepily.

He opened the shower door slightly and said, "Hey."

"Hey yourself," she replied, standing there, wearing nothing but a very sexy little lace babydoll in soft lilac with spaghetti straps and what looked like a matching panty. He felt the blood rushing to his groin at the sight. "I hear there was a problem involving Calleigh," she said, leaning against the counter. "Is she okay?"

"She's not hurt physically, but emotionally, I'm hoping she'll get counselling if she needs it," he replied.

She nodded, looking at him. "Brazil go okay?" she asked.

"I was cleared by Chief Braga, and the Mala Noche will no longer be a problem," he said.

She nodded again. "I'm glad you're home."

"I'm glad to be home," he said. He had to let her in, he realized. She had asked, fairly begged, him to let her in, and now that the Mala Noche would no longer be an issue between them, he had to show her that he was letting her in.

They had spoken about the age-gap between them but it had turned out to not be nearly as much of an issue as he'd originally thought. In two weeks, she was turning thirty and he was already fifty-one. It was a large age-gap, true, but not one too many people would bat an eyelash at these days. After all, he wasn't exactly robbing the cradle, so to speak, not with Sandra.

He held out his hand to her and asked, "Join me?"

She smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." He watched as she removed the babydoll and panties and stepped into the shower with him. She moaned softly in pleasure as the warm water cascaded over her. "Now that the Mala Noche are finished, what happens next?" she asked.

"Simple; we keep doing what we're doing now and enjoy every moment of it," he said, watching as she took a facecloth and applied a generous dollop of bodywash to it. "Except now I can give you forever, if you want."

She smiled at that as she began to wash his arms and chest. "Forever sounds good."

"Good," he said, enfolding her in his arms. "Because now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go."

"If you do, I swear I'll hunt you down," she whispered, just before he kissed her.

"And you would too," he said, kissing her again.

Then all thoughts of hunting, the Mala Noche, everything, everything was forgotten except each other.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: **Thanks again for your patience and your reviews. Here is two chapters in one shot. As soon as I get the chance, the third one will be completed.

**Chapter 30**

Sandra was waiting for Horatio at their favourite restaurant/bar as she sipped on a Spanish coffee. Things had been pretty good as of late; her store was doing well, her relationship with Horatio was doing well, life was good.

She idly toyed with her straw as she watched the Miami Dolphins go after the Oakland Raiders on the flat screen above the bar, wincing as one player received a particularly nasty tackle, driving him a good three feet across the grass face-down.

"Ouch," she said.

"You watch football?" the waitress, Mandy, asked, coming by with a coffee carafe in hand. She had seen Sandra around often enough to recognize her and the two were friendly. She knew once Sandra finished her drink she'd order regular coffee until her companion, Mr. Caine, arrived.

"No, not really, but I understand enough of the game to follow what's going on," Sandra replied. "Besides, padded or not, that's gotta hurt."

"It does, trust me, it does," Mandy said. "My boyfriend plays college football and he says that even with all that padding, some guys hit like a full-bore freight train."

"I am so glad Horatio stays away from that stuff," Sandra groaned. Then she spotted something and cursed softly. "Damn it, not now."

"Problem?" Mandy asked, concerned.

"Yeah, the cop that just walked in?" Sandra asked, indicating the man in the brown patrol uniform who had just walked into the restaurant and appeared to be looking for someone or something.

"Yeah?"

"His name is Steve Raye and he and I do not get along. We dated and it ended badly," Sandra said. "He dumped me at Clover's Point with a dead cell phone because he was pissed off that I wouldn't take the relationship further."

"Pig," Mandy muttered.

"Yeah, well, he made a bad mistake," Sandra said. "He showed up at the marina one day, got mouthy with me, and ended up in the water."

Mandy grinned. "You didn't."

"I did."

"Good for you," Mandy said. "Looks like he's coming this way."

"Crap."

Sure enough, Steve chose a seat one chair down from Sandra and ordered coffee. Then he said, "Hello Sandra."

"Hello Steve. What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing, just being pleasant."

"That makes for a pleasant change," she said, taking another mouthful of her drink.

"You seeing anybody these days?" he asked.

"Yes I am and I'm waiting for him."

Steve grunted. "Hope he has better luck with you than I did."

She glared at him. "You're being a jerk, Steve. You want to get pissy, fine, but not here and not with me. Don't you have a job to do?"

He chuckled. "Still the same self-righteous bitch as always. Besides, I'm off duty," he said.

"Steve, do us both a favour," she said, feeling her temper rising. "Either shut up or fuck off, but leave me alone."

"It's a public place sweetheart," Steve pointed out. "And I'm a cop."

"And you're still an asshole," she shot back. She snagged her purse, hunting for her cell to call Horatio and suggest that they meet elsewhere, only to realize she'd left her cell in her truck. _Damn it._ She gestured to Mandy, who came over. "I left my cell in my truck. I'm gonna pay for my drink and go get my cell, maybe call Horatio and suggest we meet somewhere else," she said in a low voice. "This is getting out of hand." Mandy nodded and accepted the ten dollar bill she was handed. "Keep the change."

She got off her stool and was walking past Steve when she stumbled, having tripped over something.

"You okay?" Mandy asked, having seen the stumble.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I _tripped_ over someone's big feet," she said, giving Steve a dirty look before continuing on her way. Steve didn't look at her, just continued drinking his coffee.

She made it out to her truck and was about to open her door, keys in hand, when her wrist was grabbed and she was yanked around. It was Steve.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"You're drunk, ma'am," he said calmly. "I'm afraid I can't let you drive and I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you for impaired driving."

"_Excuse me?"_ she yelped, yanking at her wrist. "You're nuts, Steve, absolutely nuts! I've only had one drink and I am most certainly not drunk! Let me go!"

"You're resisting arrest, ma'am. That's just going to make things more difficult for you," he said, yanking her arms behind her back and shoving her against the hood of her truck.

Sandra was absolutely terrified. She didn't know what game Steve was playing at and she didn't like it one bit. She'd seen enough _Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol_ episodes to know things could get pretty ugly pretty fast, especially if she continued to resist. She didn't want that, but Steve was trying to arrest her for something that wasn't true and she was frightened of what might happen if and when he got his cuffs on her.

Unfortunately for her, despite her best efforts, she wound up face-down on the ground with her hands cuffed behind her. She took some measure of satisfaction that he was breathing just as hard as she was.

As he yanked her up off the ground, he said, "That was not smart, ma'am. Now you'll be booked for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer on top of the impaired driving charge."

He did the Miranda Rights speech and she decided to take advantage of one of her rights; the right to remain silent, realizing that Steve would not listen to her no matter what she said. Once that was done, he sat her on the curb and placed a call to Dispatch to have her picked up.

_I sincerely hope Horatio gets here fast,_ she thought frantically, _because if I get to the station house, I am in for a world of trouble._


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

As Horatio pulled up to the bar/restaurant where he was meeting Sandra, he spotted what looked like flashing patrol cars in the parking lot. He knew he was a little bit late meeting Sandra and had left a message on her cell when she hadn't answered. He hoped everything was okay and wondered if he was going to have to flash his badge to find out what was going on.

He and Sandra had been dating for a while now and as far as he was concerned, things couldn't be better. Sandra was a bit more affectionate now that the gloves were off, but their friendship was still there and still strong. Maybe that's why things felt so good; because they hadn't changed, yet they had.

He parked his car and got out, heading for the patrol cars to see what was going on. It was then that he spotted Sandra's truck and Sandra sitting in the back seat of a patrol car. _What the hell?_ he thought, concern flooding him. From what he could tell through the open door, her hands were cuffed behind her and she was looking none too happy with life.

"Excuse me, sir," a patrol officer said, coming up to stop him.

He took out his badge and flashed it at the officer. "Lieutenant Horatio Caine," he said. "What's going on here?"

"An off-duty cop reported and arrested the woman in the car for being drunk and resisting arrest," the officer said.

Horatio's eyebrows shot up and he placed his hands on his hips. "Okay, has she said anything?"

"No sir. She seems to be exercising her right to remain silent."

"Okay, who called it in?" he asked.

"Officer Steve Raye," the officer said.

Horatio felt his blood chill and the officer watched as his face turned to stone. "Okay, has Mr. Raye made it known that he has a history with the woman?"

The officer's brow furrowed. "No sir, he didn't. Do you know her?"

"I do," he said. "Her name is Sandra Sinise. My advice to you is to get your superior officer here, _now._"

"What about you, sir?" the officer asked, puzzled.

"Sandra and I are dating. I was supposed to meet her here," he said, going over to the patrol car where Sandra was, the patrol officer hot on his heels. "Sandra," he said. Her head snapped up towards him when she heard his voice and he saw the fear in her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, crouching down beside her as he took his sunglasses off.

She nodded. "Sore wrists but no worse for the wear."

"Okay, I need you to be honest with me; are you drunk?" he asked.

"No. I only had one Spanish coffee and that was about five, ten minutes ago," she replied.

"Okay, the patrol officer says you're not talking."

"Decided it would be best to keep my mouth shut until I could get someone to really listen to me, preferably away from Steve," she said. "Either that or a lawyer."

"Smart," he said.

"I'm not drunk," she said.

"Are you willing to take a breath-analyzer test to prove it?" the officer asked.

"Yes," she said.

The officer nodded and gestured towards his partner. The officer, a woman, came over, and they talked for a moment in hushed voices. Then the woman nodded and went back over to Steve, who was standing beside his car, looking and acting as if nothing was wrong. The officer went to his trunk and got a breath-analyzer kit. The test only took a moment to administer and when the results came up, the officer sighed heavily. Definitely time to get a supervisor.

"Point oh-one," he said. "Well below the legal limit. You are definitely not drunk," he said.

"Which means Mr. Raye had no cause for arresting her," Horatio said.

The officer nodded. "What about his claims of resisting arrest?"

"I was afraid of him," she said. "We've dated before and things didn't end well between us. Last time I saw him, he was doing a swan-dive into the ocean off a dock because he got a tad too mouthy with me."

"He left her alone at Clover's Point with a dead cell phone a few weeks back," Horatio said.

The officer's eyebrows shot up. "Why?"

"Because he wanted to get serious and I didn't and he got pissed off," Sandra said.

"So you believe you had cause for being afraid of Officer Raye," the officer said, starting to understand the situation.

As they watched, another patrol car pulled up to the parking lot and a heavy-set man in a patrol uniform got out. He came over to the car where they were and said, "I'm Sergeant Katts. What's the problem here?"

The patrol officer quickly explained what had transpired up to that point and what the breath-analyzer test had proved. Sergeant Katts' eyebrows furrowed as he listened and he began to scowl. "Okay, miss, can you tell me what happened? How did Officer Raye end up arresting you?" he asked.

"I was inside at the bar, waiting for Horatio, as we agreed to meet here for dinner. I was drinking a cup of Spanish coffee and talking to a waitress, Mandy, I think her name is. Anyway, watching the Dolphins go after the Raiders, and Steve shows up," Sandra said tiredly. "He sits one stool down from me and starts talking. I try to be pleasant but he starts getting mouthy. Called me a self-righteous bitch at one point and I told him to either play nice or fuck off but leave me alone."

"What did he say to that?" Sergeant Katts asked.

"Said it was a public place and he was a cop," Sandra replied. "I decided I'd had enough of that, paid for my drink and told Mandy I was going to go get my cell, which I'd realized I'd left in my truck, and call Horatio and suggest we meet somewhere else. On the way past Steve, I stumbled."

"Okay," Sergeant Katts said.

"I get out to the truck, don't even get my keys in the door and the next thing I know, he's telling me I'm under arrest for being drunk and driving under the influence."

"Did you resist?" Sergeant Katts asked.

"I did because I was afraid."

"Okay," Sergeant Katts said, a headache beginning to form between his eyebrows. "You said Mandy, the waitress saw you talking to him?"

"I did."

"Do you think she'd be willing to verify your story?"

"Yes. We don't know each other by name, mostly by face, but she's seen me around often enough."

"Okay," Sergeant Katts said.

"I'll go see if I can find her, see what she has to say," the officer said. Sergeant Katts nodded and the officer headed into the restaurant.

"I'm gonna go talk to Officer Raye, find out what's going on," Sergeant Katts said. Both Horatio and Sandra nodded and he walked off.

"How are you holding?" Horatio asked her softly.

"I'm scared, Horatio, absolutely frickin' terrified," she admitted just as softly.

"I understand. Any idea why Steve would do this?"

"To get back at me for his little dip, maybe his trip to Clover's Point?"

"Possibly," he said. "Tell you what; after this is all over, what do you say we go home and order out?"

"That and a hot bath sounds like a damn good idea."

"We can do that."


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: **thanks again for your patience and your reviews. Hopefully this'll be the last we see of Steve Raye for a while.

**Chapter 32**

"What's going to happen to Steve now?" Sandra asked as she snuggled against Horatio. It had taken nearly an hour to get things straightened out at the restaurant, but Sandra was eventually released.

Mandy, the waitress, had proven to be a fountain of information, relating what Sandra had told her and what she had over-heard between Sandra and Steve, specifically Sandra telling Steve to leave her alone. She had also produced the receipt that stated Sandra had purchased one drink and one drink only.

Then, another witness had stepped forward; the bartender and he had confirmed what both Mandy and Sandra were saying. He had confirmed that Sandra and Horatio were regulars and admitted to flirting harmlessly with Sandra on more than one occasion; she was a pretty, friendly woman so it was hard not to flirt with her.

All this information combined with Sandra's breath-analyzer reading left Sergeant Katts about ready to hit something.

The end result was Sandra being released with apologies on behalf of the Miami-Dade police and a strong recommendation that she file a complaint against Steve Raye as soon as possible.

Now they were at Sandra's place and working their way through a take-out order of Chinese food on the couch as the evening news broadcasted from the TV. Her wrists were still sore from the cuffs but she knew she'd be fine; nothing some moisturizer and care couldn't take care of.

"Well," Horatio said, "should you chose to file a complaint against Steve, he will be disciplined very heavily. He may be given desk duty for several months and-or he may be fired. That is up to his supervisor."

"And if he goes after me again?" she asked, worried.

"Then he will be dealt with again," he soothed. "If it worries you that much, you can have a TRO put on him."

"Would it do any good?" she asked. "I mean, he blames me for getting dumped at Clover's Point; I'd say he's looking for revenge."

"I don't know. Unfortunately at this point, it's a waiting game. We see what happens after he gets disciplined," he said.

She nodded. "Think maybe getting screamed at by a lawyer might do any good?"

"It might. Do you know of one?"

"I've got the name of one that I use every now and then; he's with the Del Walshes and he's pretty good," she said. "However, I'm afraid that if I let him near Steve right now, he'll rip the idiot to shreds. Seems he graduated near the top of his class at law school and passed the bar exam with flying colors and from what I understand, he's reduced more than one poor sap to a whimpering heap of flesh."

"Having him go after Steve might not be such a bad thing."

She glanced at him and said, "I know you want to do the same to him but he's not worth the hassle."

"That, sweetheart, depends on who you're talking to," he said, popping a fork-full of fried rice and beef in his mouth.

"My hero," was all she could say.

The next day, with Sergeant Katts and Horatio's assistance, Sandra, along with her lawyer, Adam Gregory, a grandfatherly-type gentleman with a razor-sharp mind, filed a complaint against Steve Raye for unlawful arrest and harassment. When the complaint reached Steve's supervisor, the two officers who had been called to pick Sandra up were questioned and their statements were added to the complaint.

Then Steve was called in and, according to Ryan Wolfe, who still had friends in the patrol department, one could hear the yelling throughout the whole department.

"So what happened to Mr. Raye?" Horatio asked, after Ryan had popped by his office to let him know what he was hearing in the patrol squad room; Horatio had told Ryan what had happened, who had promised to keep his ear open as to what happened to Steve.

"The short of the long is that Steve is on suspension for two weeks without pay and when he gets back, he's on desk duty for the next six months," Ryan said. "He's also been ordered to publicly apologize to Sandra but her lawyer told him flat-out to stay away from Sandra or face a TRO. Upon hearing that, his supervisor instructed him to write a letter of apology to Sandra, hand it to him for proof-reading and then he would hand it to Sandra's lawyer. On top of that, he's been told to see the department shrink, who will have the final say as to whether or not he goes back on active duty."

"Good."

"Mind you, it might not be such a bad idea for Sandra to get that TRO," Ryan said. "Word I got was that Steve was swearing something fierce and blaming Sandra for his problems."

"You think he may go after Sandra?" Horatio asked.

"I hope to hell not, but you never know. Tell Sandra to be careful," Ryan said. "I'll keep my ear open about Steve, let you know if I hear anything more."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"No problem. I like Sandra; I don't want to see her get hurt because of some jackass with a badge and a bad attitude."

"Likewise, Mr.Wolfe, likewise."


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: **thanks again for the reviews and your patience. Things may be delayed for a bit as it appears my son has caught his first cold groan.

**Chapter 33**

Horatio smiled as he listened to Sandra on his cell.

"_So on top of the rather large shipment we just got, I've got to run to the bank and not only make a deposit, but also get some change for the store,_" Sandra said. "_I am _so_ glad I drove to work today._"

"So does that mean you won't be able to join me for lunch today?" he asked teasingly. "And I see so little of you as it is."

"_Yeah right, smartass; you saw me this morning, quite a fair bit of me as I recall,_" she shot back, laughter in her voice.

"And quite a sight it was," he replied, grinning.

"_You should know,_" she shot back sassily.

He just grinned. "Okay, I have to go, but I'll catch up to you later."

"_Always, sweetie, always._"

As Horatio closed his cell and made his way through the labs to discuss ballistic results with Calleigh, the grin remained on his face. He had been spending more and more nights at Sandra's place to the point he'd started keeping a lint roller in his car and desk to keep the cat hair off his jackets and pants, mostly to avoid scene and lab contamination.

Life was good, mostly. Sure, there was the issue of Julia and her current boyfriend, Ron Saris, Kyle, pedophile trouble from a recent case he'd been involved in, but otherwise things were good. He was seriously considering introducing Kyle to Sandra but wasn't sure how that would work out.

_Maybe a dinner?_ he thought. Something to seriously think about as Sandra was becoming such a part of his life that he was finding it harder and harder to imagine his life without her.

He still had that thought on his mind when he entered the ballistics lab and Calleigh spotted him. She offered him a cheerful smile and he got down to business; catching a killer from a robbery gone wrong.

At the bank Sandra smiled as she put her cell back in it's holder at her waist. She always enjoyed talking to Horatio, no matter how busy things got or whether or not they had seen each other that morning, which they had.

He was starting to spend so many nights at her place she'd gotten him his own coffee mug and more and more of his clothes were winding up in her closet. In fact, his toothbrush and shaver were currently occupying a place in her bathroom. She was seriously starting to wonder if she should suggest that he just move in with her.

Then there was the issue of Kyle, his son. She was curious about the teenager and wondered if she should suggest a dinner with him one night. He seemed like a good kid, just very confused about things right now.

Despite the fact that she was busy at the store, the bank itself was quiet so she didn't think it would take long for her to reach the business desk.

The security guard, a baby-face-looking young man with dark brown hair and a weapon on his hip, looked bored but attentive. She noticed he seemed to be flirting with one of the younger girls and shook her head, grinning at the sight. Some things would never change.

The line she was in moved forward again and she was quickly at the front of the business teller's desk, cash bags in hand.

"And how can I help you today, ma'am?" the teller asked as she handed over her store identification and information.

Sandra smiled. "Just a deposit and some change making," she said.

"Certainly..." the teller began.

Then all hell broke loose.

Without warning, three masked gunmen armed with semi-automatic weapons and handguns burst in and started yelling and firing off their weapons at the ceiling.

"_Hit the floor!_"

"_Everyone get down, now! On the floor!_"

"_On the floor! Do it! On the floor now!_"

Lights exploded as bullets hit them and Sandra saw the security guard go down, weapon drawn; she suspected he'd never even had a chance to fire it, so caught off guard as he was.

Like everyone else, Sandra hit the floor and instinctively covered her head with her hands. She yanked her purse under her and prayed the thieves took what they wanted without anyone getting hurt.

The first thought that went through her mind was, _A bank robbery? Are they freakin' nuts? _Then, _Horatio is going to go ballistic when he hears about this._

Then another thought came to her; she had heard of more than one robbery going south and someone getting seriously hurt, especially during bank robberies, and she began to pray. During all their time together, she had not told Horatio how much she loved him and now, if the bank robbery got out of hand, she might not get the chance to do so. There were so many bullets flying all over the place and the security guard was down, which was really not a good indication of things.

_Please God, get me out of this alive and I swear I will tell Horatio how much I love him. Please, please give me that chance,_ she prayed.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: **thanks again for your patience, reviews, and your kind thoughts; my son just has a bit of a cough but he'll be okay.

**Chapter 34**

The chaos was unbelievable; yelling, screaming, guns firing, lights exploding, it was absolute chaos.

As Sandra prayed for a second chance to tell Horatio she loved him, she spotted the bank guard on the floor, clutching his thigh. Blood was pooling around his leg at a dangerously fast rate, despite his efforts to staunch the flow.

Before she knew it, Sandra found herself crawling towards the guard. Her only thought was that she had to try and help him before he bled to death. It was the same thought that had pretty much gotten her face bashed in all those years ago and it was the same thought that propelled her forward now.

She was half-way there when she found herself being yanked up by her hair and a gun shoved in her face. Her hands automatically went to the hand that was gripping her hair and she dug her nails into the apparently-exposed skin above her captor's hand, raking it.

"Get down, you stupid bitch!" the man yelled angrily.

"Look, you've already got armed robbery on your hands!" she snapped desperately. "You want to add murder to that? 'Cause you're going about it the right way!"

The thief hesitated for a moment. Then he shoved her away and ran for the door, hot on the heels of his partners-in-crime. Sandra resumed scrambling to reach the guard. She reached him and slapped her hand over his, which was over the wound. Her other hand scrambled for her cell before punching the voice-dial button.

At the prompt, she barked, "Alexx Woods, cell."

The line rang three times before Alexx picked up. "_Alexx here._"

"Alexx, it's Sandra. I've got a guy with a bullet in his leg and he's bleeding heavily! What do I do?" she barked.

There was silence, then Alexx demanded, "_Okay, where is the bullet entrance, is it a through-and-through, and have the paramedics been called?_"

"Wound is at least a hand-span above his knee, maybe a bit higher, looks like it came in front but I'm not seeing an exit," Sandra reported, tucking her cell between her ear and neck. "As for the paramedics, I would imagine someone's screamed 9-1-1 already."

"_Okay, you need to put pressure on the wound and use something to tie off his leg above the wound, like a tie or a belt,_" Alexx said.

Sandra looked around and spotted one of the bankers with a tie. "I need your tie!" she yelled, gesturing at the man. With the thieves gone and sirens approaching, the man quickly scrambled towards her, yanking his tie off as he did so. "Help me tie it above the wound," she instructed. The girl the guard had been flirting with earlier now cradled his head in her lap, making a valiant attempt to staunch the flow of frightened tears down her face. "It's gonna be okay," she soothed the girl and the guard. "The lady on the other end of the line is a doctor and a really good friend. I know you're scared, but help is coming, I promise." They both nodded and, working with her, the banker helped Sandra get his tie under the guard's leg and above the wound. "How tight, Alexx?" she asked.

"_As tight as you can get it, sugar, as tight as you can get it,_" Alexx said. "_You need to stop the flow of blood._"

"He's lost an awful lot already," Sandra mumbled, tightening the knot as tightly as she could. "Hope the paramedics get here in time."

"_Where are you, sweetie?_" Alexx asked.

"I'm at the National Bank near Hedgeworth Mall," Sandra replied. "We got hit with an armed robbery."

"_Horatio is on his way,_" Alexx said.

"How?" Sandra asked, confused.

"_He was discussing a current case with me when your call came in._"

"He's gonna go ballistic, if he hasn't already."

"_Because he cares._"

"So do I," she said softly. Then she heard a welcome noise; the sound of sirens approaching. "Thanks for your help, Alexx. The paramedics are here and I gotta go."

"_Okay, talk to you later, sugar, and I want the full story._"

"Will do."

The paramedics had indeed arrived, along with the police and they quickly took over.

"That lady, that lady, she saved my life, man," the guard said as the paramedics worked on him. "So did Mr. Cartwell, but that lady, she stood up to one of the bastards and tried to help me."

"He going to be okay?" Sandra asked the paramedics.

"Looks like it; the bleeding's stopped," one of them said.

"That's good," the banker, Mr. Cartwell, said.

The bank building was a simple building, especially the public area, and it had white tile ceiling panels and fluorescent lights. During the robbery the thieves had shot towards the ceiling and lights, causing some heavy damage. What Sandra didn't know was that she was standing under one of the damaged panels, focused as she was on the guard.

Suddenly….

"_Look out!_" someone yelled.

Sandra looked up in time to see the panel coming straight down towards her. She barely even had time to get her arms up before lights exploded and pain shot through her.

The came the blessed darkness and she knew nothing else.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Horatio had been about to discuss Alexx's recent autopsy findings on a homicide victim when Sandra's call had come in. Once Sandra had told Alexx where she was, he had been off like a shot, barking orders at Dispatch.

As he tore through the streets of Miami in the Hummer, lights flashing, his mind raced.

_Was Sandra hurt?_ She didn't sound like it, not if she was asking Alexx about how to help a wounded guard.

_Was anybody else hurt?_ He hoped not. Right now he just wanted to find Sandra and make sure she was okay.

When he pulled up to the parking lot of the National Bank, he spotted a couple of patrol cars and one ambulance pulling away, sirens chirping. He spotted a second ambulance, doors open, waiting.

_What the heck?_ he thought. He flashed his badge at the patrol officer who walked up to him and the officer nodded. "What happened?" he asked.

"Armed robbery, sir," the officer said as they headed towards the bank. "Witnesses say three masked guys with guns burst in and started shooting at the ceiling, demanding cash. A guard was shot in the process but the paramedics say he'll be okay. Stupid thing is, the lady that was trying to help the guard-"

"What about her?" Horatio demanded, instantly realizing _the lady _was, in fact, Sandra.

"Well, the thieves, they shot up the bank ceiling so bad that some of it fell and hit the lady in the head," the officer said. "The paramedics are tending to her now." But the officer wasn't sure if Horatio heard him, having taken off at a dead run inside the bank.

Horatio quickly spotted the paramedics and when they lifted the stretcher, his blood turned to ice; Sandra lay on the stretcher, hands covered in blood and eyes closed.

"Sandra!" he yelled, running over to the group.

"She's okay, sir, just unconscious," the paramedic tried to assure him. "Do you know her?"

"She's, we're seeing each other," Horatio said, managing to grab her hand.

"Does she have any family, anyone who might know her medical history?" the paramedic asked.

"No family, but I know enough of her medical history to be able to help you," he said.

"Good, then would you mind coming with us?"

The look the red-haired man gave him made the paramedic realize that his question had been pretty stupid; there was no way in hell this man was letting the injured woman out of his sight.

The trip to the hospital was a long one for Horatio, and an all-too-familiar one. He had made similar trips with Marisol and, later, Eric. Marisol had died. Eric, thankfully, hadn't, but it had been touch-and-go for a bit.

She looked so still, frightfully still, he thought. The blood shouldn't be on her face. After he put on a pair of gloves, he took a gauze pad, wet it with a bit of water and began to tenderly clean the blood from her face from her cut on her head around the taped gauze the paramedics had already placed there.

"That's gonna need stitches," the paramedic noted, watching him closely.

"Not the first time," he replied, tossing the dirty gauze and his gloves once he was done. He picked up her hand and held it tightly. "_I can not lose her,_" he whispered. _I can not lose her._ _I love her. I can not lose her. Please, God, don't take her from me. Please._

"You won't," the paramedic said gently. "She took a nasty knock, but baring unforeseen complications, she's going to be fine."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Horatio replied. He studied her slender hands, noting how delicate her fingers and nails seemed. She was wearing _Melon of Troy_ OPI nail polish, he knew, because he'd watched her put it on last night; same with her toes. Then he spotted something under her nails; skin, maybe? Had Sandra nailed one of the robbers? "Her nails are going to need to be scraped," he said. "There's skin under the nails and it could be DNA evidence."

"We'll let the hospital staff know," the paramedic said, making a note of it. He watched as Horatio resumed holding Sandra's hand and watching her closely.

At the hospital Sandra was taken into one of the units and he was forced to stay behind. He stared at the closed screen, hands at his hips and one finger tapping the butt of his gun.

"Horatio!" It was Calleigh, carrying her crime scene kit. "I'd heard there was a robbery and one of the witnesses was hurt," she said as she joined him. "I just finished talking to the guard who got shot."

"How is he?"

"He'll be okay. I've got the bullet so hopefully there'll be something in AFIS that will give us an idea as to who these guys are."

"Sandra needs to have her nails scraped," he said. "There's skin under her nails and I'm thinking she may have gotten one of the robbers."

"That's Sandra in there?" Calleigh asked incredulously. Horatio nodded. "Okay, as soon as they let me near her, I'll take care of it," she said.

"You do that," he said. "Do me a favour?" he asked, coming to a decision.

"If I can."

"I need to borrow your keys to the Hummer; mine is still in the parking lot of the National Bank." She wordlessly handed over her keys. "Don't let Sandra out of your sight. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Where are you going?" she asked, curious. There was a look on her boss's face that suggested he'd come to a decision about something.

"I'm going to go do something I should have done weeks ago," he said, placing his sunglasses on his face and striding towards the main desk. "Call me if she wakes up before I get back."

A puzzled look on her face, Calleigh watched as Horatio spoke quietly to the desk nurse, who answered and wrote something down on a piece of paper. Then he was striding out of the hospital with a look of purpose about him. Curious, Calleigh went up to the nurse and asked, "What was that all about?"

The nurse grinned. "He asked if I knew where the nearest jewellery store was."

_The nearest jewellery store?_ Calleigh thought, puzzled by the request. What the heck was Horatio up to? Unless…. Calleigh started grinning. "Was wondering when he was finally going to get around to that."


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** sorry for the delay; had a system crash that my hubby and dad spent most of the weekend fighting with the computer over, and if it wasn't that, it was the fact that I started my first day back at work yesterday. Anyway, thanks for your patience and your reviews, as always.

**Chapter 36**

Sandra finally became coherent about five minutes after Horatio left. After checking her over, the doctor determined that, aside from needing stitches in her head and having a heck of a headache, she was fine. However, due to the fact that she had been nonresponsive for a bit, he did want her to stay over-night for observation, in case a concussion developed.

Head hurting too much, Sandra didn't argue. Once Calleigh arrived, partially to scrape her nails and partially to keep her promise to Horatio, she did admit there were some calls she had to make, specifically to her district manager to let them know what was going on. Calleigh offered to do that for her provided she take it easy and relax as much as possible. That Sandra agreed to. Then she asked about Horatio.

"I could've sworn I heard him," she said, her brow creasing as she tried to remember. "Something about not losing me."

"You may have," Calleigh said. "He was with you in the ambulance and he was here but he had to go take care of something. He'll be back soon, I promise."

"Okay," Sandra said, starting to feel the effects of the painkiller finally kicking in. "Hope he gets back soon."

"He will. You know he's worried sick about you," Calleigh said.

"That doesn't surprise me," Sandra said. "I didn't mean to worry him but then again I didn't exactly plan on this whole robbery thing. Mind you, I was pretty scared because I was afraid I wasn't going to get the chance to tell him just how much I love him."

Calleigh smiled. "Oh, I think you'll get your chance. Feel up to answering a few questions from the detectives involved in solving the robbery?"

"I'll do my best," Sandra said, rubbing her aching head.

But those questions were going to have to wait as a nurse and orderly came to take Sandra to her room. As they did that, Calleigh took Sandra's cell and, after receiving instructions from Sandra, went to place the call to her district manager.

It didn't take Calleigh long to explain the problem and the situation to the district manager, who was very sympathetic, concerned about Sandra, and promised to come by the hospital as well as getting Sandra's girls the change they needed for the store. As she was talking to the district manager, she saw a familiar Hummer pull up to the hospital. It was Horatio and he had a pleased smirk on his face.

"Okay, what did you do and where did you go?" Calleigh asked, literally pouncing on him after she hung up.

He took his hand out of his pocket and showed her the small blue box. Inside was a 0.23 carat round-cut diamond on an eighteen K gold band surrounded with alternating brilliant round and baguette diamonds in a channel-bar setting. Next to it was a matching band, minus the center stone. Calleigh's jaw dropped.

"That is _beautiful_," she said.

"She's going to marry me," he said, "even if I have to haul her over my shoulders and drag her to the nearest justice of peace."

Calleigh grinned. "Somehow I don't think that's going to be a problem. She admitted that she had been scared during the bank robbery, mostly because she's was afraid she wouldn't get the chance to tell you how much she loves you."

Horatio perked up at that. "Yeah?"

"Yup. They're keeping her over-night for observation because of the fact that she was nonresponsive for a period of time. She's okay now, but she's got a bit of a headache and they had to put in a few stitches in her forehead," Calleigh said.

"Bet she loved that."

"Said something about yet another scar on her face?"

Horatio smiled tightly and asked, "Did they run an x-ray on her?"

"Nope but they will as soon as she gets settled in. They want to make sure she doesn't have any skull fractures."

"_They are going to love her face_," he thought. "_I hope they don't ask too many questions, especially ones she can't answer._" "What room is she in?" he asked.

She told him and asked, "Want me to have someone bring the Hummer to the hospital for you?"

"Please. I believe her truck is still in the parking lot as well."

"I'll get her keys and take care of that. Also, tell her that her district manager will be by later and knows what happened at the bank," she said, handing him Sandra's cell phone.

"Thank you, Calleigh."

"Not a problem. Now, go take care of Sandra and I'll take care of the vehicles."

Sandra's face lit up when she saw Horatio enter the room. She was in a semi-private room but was the only occupant for now and had been placed next to the window.

Her hand reached out for him and he grasped it tightly, wincing at the sight of the bandage on her forehead, near her hairline. "Hi there, Handsome," she said.

"Hi Beautiful, how are you holding?" he asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside the bed, not letting go of her hand.

"Head hurts but the doc says I'll be okay; just wants to keep me over-night to make sure I didn't rattle anything too hard." She gave him a slightly loopy grin. "As you can tell, I'm a bit stoned."

"That's okay; that's the one time you're allowed to be stoned in front of an officer of the law," he quipped, grinning. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"So am I." She turned on her side and studied him. "One thing I realized while all that shit was going on, I realized I hadn't told you I love you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

He smiled at that and moved closer so that he could rest his head against hers. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. When I saw you lying on that stretcher, I was afraid I was going to lose you. I don't want to lose you," he whispered.

"You won't, not if I can help it," she whispered back.

"And I know just how to make sure of that," he whispered, reaching for the little blue box he'd put back in his jacket pocket. "Marry me," he said, opening the box.

He watched as Sandra's jaw dropped. Her mouth worked a few times but no sound came out of it. Finally she managed to squeak out, "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm very sure. I want you with me for the rest of our lives."

It was a bit of a shock for Sandra, something she had never even considered because she was reluctant to, but she knew there could only be one answer.

"How fast can we do it?" she asked, grinning.

He grinned back. "As fast as the law allows."

"Then lets do it."

"Yeah?" he asked as he carefully slipped the engagement ring on her left hand.

"Yeah, 'cause after today, if you think I'm letting you go too far, especially when I could've lost you, _think again,_" she whispered, admiring the ring. "I love you so damn much it's unreal."

"That's good to know; I love you too, now and forever," he whispered back before kissing her.

"Forever."

When the orderly came in to take Sandra down to X-Ray, he stopped when he saw the couple and then quietly backed out of the room with a grin on his face. They either never saw him or never heard him because neither of them looked up at him, absorbed in each other as they were.

"I think I'll give the love birds a few minutes," he told the charge nurse, still grinning.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N:** again, sorry for the delay; life has been a bit busy but I will try and get another chapter in before the day is over, at least for me:D thanks for your patience and kind reviews.

**Chapter 37**

According to Florida law, because Sandra and Horatio had not attended a state-sponsored marriage preparation course, there was a three-day waiting period for the marriage licence. Due to Sandra's head injury and their respective work schedules, it was about a week before they could get the licence.

During that time Sandra spoke to the Del Walshes about her condo and her upcoming nuptials and they agreed that because it was Sandra's name on the lease she could invite her husband to move in with her. The family also extended their congratulations and best wishes, something Sandra passed on to Horatio.

As for the wedding itself, both agreed they wanted a simple one; pay a visit to the justice of peace and then maybe dinner or lunch with their friends. Their honeymoon would have to wait for a bit, until they could both afford to take time off.

Horatio didn't announce the engagement and neither did Sandra; that didn't stop people from noticing or commenting. Sandra's girls were quick to spot the ring on Sandra's hand and they admired it, especially when Sandra told them who she was engaged to.

Calleigh pounced on Horatio the day after he'd proposed to Sandra, with a very demanding, "_Well?_"

He just grinned and nodded.

"About time!" she said, grinning. "When?"

"As soon as possible."

"We let you get away with Marisol," she said, "but we won't with Sandra; you know that, right?"

"Somehow," he said ruefully, "that does not surprise me."

The only major issue they ran into with regards to their marriage was Kyle.

Kyle knew of Sandra, as Horatio had mentioned her a few times, but he had not actually met her. Sandra offered to remedy that problem by inviting him to dinner. Kyle accepted the invitation and, on the night of the dinner, Horatio picked him up from his mom's place, pointedly ignoring Ron, who glared at him.

"How long have you known Sandra?" Kyle asked, curious, as Horatio drove back to his condo building.

"About seven years, give or take," Horatio said.

"That's a long time."

"Hmm. We've mostly been friends but it was recent that we decided to take things a bit further."

"What does she do?"

"She's a manager for a top-of-the-line clothing store."

"Something Mom might like?" Julia tended to like the finer things in life, Kyle had noticed.

"She might, as Sandra's store caters to young adult women but they are starting to branch out a bit."

"Cool. Where does she live?"

Horatio smiled. "Two doors down from my place."

"You two are neighbours? Is that how you've known each other for so long?" Kyle asked, eyes going wide.

"Yes. One question; are you allergic to cats?"

"Nope. I love dogs but cats are okay."

"Okay. Sandra has two and they can be a pair of hell-raisers. Watch your ankles when you come in the door."

Kyle's eyes went wide again as he wondered what he was getting himself into.

In the building, Horatio was about to open the door to the condo that was rapidly becoming his home when both he and Kyle heard someone shriek.

Kyle's eyes went wide as he watched his father calmly continue opening the door, as if someone yelling from inside the condo was an everyday occurrence.

"Sandra! Are you okay, sweetheart?" Horatio called as he removed his shoes and put his sunglasses on a nearby hall table.

"Oh, just dandy, if you don't mind the fact that we're having kitty shish-kabob as a side for dinner tonight!" Sandra yelled back from down the hallway.

Horatio grinned as he went down the hallway, Kyle right behind him, having taken his shoes and jacket off. "Which one?"

"Bear!"

"What did he do?" Horatio asked, entering what Kyle assumed was the bedroom, and leaning against the doorframe, hands tucked in his pockets.

In the bedroom a pretty lady with brown hair, dressed in embroidered jeans and a black t-shirt with what looked like a neon-coloured Pooh on it, was leaning against the bed frame, one sock-covered ankle slightly up, and glaring at something under the bed.

"_Guess_," she said sourly, causing Horatio to grin even wider and Kyle to wonder just what he was getting himself into tonight.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N:** if anyone has any suggestions as to who should attend the wedding besides Horatio, Sandra, and Kyle, let me know. I need a maid of honor.

**Chapter 38**

After the rather intresting introduction, Horatio properly introduced Kyle to Sandra, who proved to be open and welcoming, not fake like some of his mom's friends. Bear turned out to be a black furball with a punched-in-nose face and a short stub of a tail, hence the name. There was another cat, Moe, whom Kyle noticed seemed to favour his dad based on the way the orange female greeted him. He noticed she, too, had no tail, making her look like a round ball of fur with an impish attitude.

Their condo was cool and had a pretty nice view and he was fascinated by the movie posters Sandra had acquired over the years, some of them signed. When asked about where she'd gotten them, she said she had a friend who knew people.

Over a simple dinner of flavoured rice, steamed vegetables, and coated boneless chicken, with a side salad, Kyle got to know his soon-to-be stepmother. He asked her about her family and was told she had none, having been raised primarily in foster care.

"Have you lived in Miami all of your life?" Kyle asked.

"No, I'm originally from Chicago," Sandra said. "A friend offered me an opportunity to come to Miami and I took it."

"So what do you think of Miami?" he asked.

"Other than not caring much for the hurricane season or the wet season, it's not bad. My first month here, I went through more sunblock in a month than I'd ever gone through in my entire life," she said, grinning. "Good thing I don't burn easily."

"Do you drive?" he asked.

"Yes I do; my job occasionally requires that I be able to do some traveling throughout the city, even though I am the manager of the store."

"What for?"

"Bank deposits, store change, emergency shift coverage at my store, and the occasional emergency coverage at another store," she said.

"Dad said you were involved in a bank robbery recently," Kyle said.

"That's right; that's how I got this," she said, indicating her forehead, where the stitches had finally been removed but the cut was still pretty visible.

"Ouch," he said, wincing. "How did that happen?"

"From what I understand, a piece of the bank tile ceiling fell on me; I don't really remember," she admitted.

"When and where are you going to have the wedding?"

That Horatio answered. "There's a small section of beach that's a favourite spot of ours," he said. "We've arrange for a Justice of Peace to perform the marriage ceremony and then after that, we'll probably head to a restaurant or some such place."

"No party or anything like that?" Kyle asked.

Both Horatio and Sandra shook their heads. "Not our style," Horatio said. "We would very much like it if you were there, however, you are welcome to decline and join us for dinner later."

"What about a honeymoon?" he asked.

"It's going to be a while before we do that; neither of us are able to take any time off work right now," Sandra said.

Kyle wanted to go, but he wasn't sure what his mom might think about him attending his dad's wedding, whether or not he liked Sandra. He might for his dad, but that depended on when the wedding was and if it was during the week, if could he get out of school for it. "When is it?" he asked. Horatio told him; it was on a Saturday at approximately 1 p.m. No school. Kyle knew Ron didn't like Horatio and he wasn't too sure why, except that his dad was a cop and Ron was probably up to no good, especially since his mom got nervous around Ron sometimes; not a good thing in his eyes. He knew Ron wouldn't like him attending his dad's wedding. _Screw that; if Ron doesn't like me being with Dad, then I am definitely going to the wedding. Just means I'd better find a suit of some kind._ "I'll be there with bells on," he said.

Horatio and Sandra smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll pick you up at your place about quarter to one and we'll head to the beach together," Horatio said.

Kyle nodded. "Do you need me to bring anything?" he asked.

"Just yourself and make sure you're in a suit," Horatio said.

"Already planning on it," he said, grinning. Maybe he could find them something nice as a wedding present, he thought; his mom might be able to help them. Suddenly, a set of sharp needles found their way into his ankle and he yelped in pain and surprise, causing him to slam his knee into the underside of the table, making him yelp again.

"Are you okay?" Horatio asked, concerned.

"I think I just got nailed," Kyle said, trying to rub his knee and ankle at the same time.

Sandra looked under the table and spotted a familiar black face peering out from between Horatio's feet. "You got Bear Clawed," she said simply.

"Is that what happened?" Kyle asked, wincing.

"That's the polite version," Horatio said. "What Bear gets called in the early hours of the morning, that," he said, "that is a different subject."

"Little devil," Kyle muttered.

"That's politer than what I've called him on some occasions," Sandra admitted, grinning ruefully.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: **thanks yet again for all the reviews and suggestions. I also, once again, appologize for the delay between chapters as I've been dealing with work, Bear (my son) and a broken window that needed fixing (long story).

**Chapter 39**

Horatio stared; it was all he could do. Sandra was walking towards him, Calleigh beside her, looking absolutely beautiful.

Sandra had chosen a white sleeveless dress that fell just above her knees and had a flared skirt, princess seams, and a sweetheart neckline. Over that she wore a cropped lace bolero jacket with trumpet sleeves. OPI _Hawaiian Orchard_-painted toes peeked out from white sandals, pearl earrings were in her lobes, and flowers were in her up-swept hair. Nails, that matched her toes, held her brightly coloured tropical bouquet, a larger version of the one that Calleigh, who was serving as her Maid of Honour, was carrying.

Calleigh said something to her and she laughed. Then she spotted Horatio and she smiled, blushing.

Both Horatio and Eric, who had agreed to be his Best Man, had elected to wear black suits and white, open-neck dress shirts with bright tropical-style boutonnieres. Kyle had shown up looking handsome in a simple grey suit with a light blue dress shirt.

"Hi," Horatio said softly, reaching for Sandra as she joined him.

"Hi yourself," she replied just as softly.

Calleigh, hair up and wearing a pretty floral-print halter dress, joined Eric and gave a short, sharp nod when Eric jerked his thumb towards the ridge. Everything was in place.

The Justice of Peace, an elderly man by the name of Jamie Savage, began the ceremony. In no time at all Jamie was telling Horatio he could kiss his bride.

"Every day," he whispered just before he kissed her.

Over the sounds of Eric's, Kyle's, and Calleigh's clapping, Horatio's ears picked up something else; shouting, laughing, and more clapping. _What the heck?_ he thought, looking up, puzzled. His new bride had the same puzzled look on her face.

The couple looked at Eric and Calleigh, both of whom were grinning mischievously.

"Okay, you two, what did you do?" Sandra demanded, turning towards the pair but not leaving Horatio's arms.

"Oh nothing... much," Calleigh said sweetly. "But, ah, if you thought you were just going to quietly get married without any of us doing or saying something, think again."

Horatio and Sandra looked at each other. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Sandra asked.

They weren't given another oportunity to think because a second later, Eric and Calleigh grabbed them and hauled them over the ridge, Kyle and Jamie following curiously. Over the ridge, slightly hidden from veiw by the nearby boulders, were Horatio and Sandra's friends, all gathered around a ready-to-be lit barbeque pit, with blankets on the ground, tables set up and fairly groaning under the weight of all the food piled on there, and lawn chairs scattered about. Two chairs in particular were decorated with streamers and balloons, clearly the Guest-of-Honor chairs.

Frank and his three kids, Peter, Susy, and Robert, were there, along with Alexx, her husband, Henry, and their two kids, Jamie and Bryan. Ryan and Natalia, Yelina and Ray Jr., Jake Berkeley, Tina, Joanne, and Shannon, three of Sandra's girls from the store, they were there as well. Plus, it looked like about half the lab technicians had shown up as well.

"About damn time you two showed up!" Frank hollared.

"Yeah, we were starting to starve," Bryan said.

"The sign of a growing boy," Ryan quipped, "thinking with his stomach."

Both Natalia and Alexx punched him in the arm from both sides, electing a yelp of surprise and pain from him.

"That's my boy you're mouthing off at," Alexx said, glaring but grinning as she waggled a finger at him. "Watch yourself or get very nervous if you ever need my medical services again."

Ryan looked at her, wide-eyed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Calleigh, how?" Horatio quietly asked his ballistics expert as she and Eric led them to the decorated lawn chairs.

Calleigh smiled and said, "I let a few things slip here and there, that's how."

"But we're not..." Sandra began tentively.

"We know that," Eric said quietly. "But these people care about you guys and they just want you to be happy. This is our way of showing that. Relax, have a bit of fun," he coaxed. "There's no alcohol here, so no one is liable to get soused any time soon."

"Are you sure?" Horatio asked.

"It was a rule we enforced;" Calleigh said. "No alcohol or no party. We want to have fun, not get stupid."

"And the lab?"

"Natalia and Ryan are on call, and so is Jake, so if anything happens, they get called," Calliegh said. "Stop worrying about it and relax, will you?"

Husband and wife looked at each other and shrugged. "Might as well," Sandra said. "Not every day we get to be the center of attention and in a good way."

"True," Horatio said. Then he leaned close and whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver,"And when we get home I'll show you a thing or two about attention." Then he couldn't say anything more as they were handed tall glasses of pink gingerale and someone fired up the barbeque.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, burger time!" Frank said gleefully.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: **once again, thank you all for your kind reviews and your patience. I'm hoping with the long weekend coming up I'll be able to get one or two more chapters in.

**Chapter 40**

The reception lasted nearly three hours; three hours of fun, food, and games. Horatio and Sandra, however, quietly left after two hours. After being assured that Kyle would be okay and would be able to get home, Horatio and Sandra headed for a quiet restaurant that was a favourite of theirs and, after ordering a bottle of wine and some appetizers, they began to relax and unwind.

"I don't know about you, but that was interesting," Sandra admitted, snuggling close to her new husband. _Husband; now that's a nice word_, she thought.

Horatio chuckled tiredly. "Yes, it certainly was at that. I had no idea what Calleigh and Eric were up to."

"They did it because they care about you and they want to see you happy," she said, reaching for a potato skin and nibbling on it.

He smiled at that; she was right. "It was fun," he admitted. And it had been; it had been interesting seeing his co-workers and friends in a different setting, especially Frank and his three kids. Even Rick Stetler had shown up and been polite, offering his congratulations and best wishes.

Over the last few months, especially in regards to Marisol, Eric, Calleigh, and his second trip to Rio, the two men had come to an unspoken, mutual agreement. Neither of them completely trusted the other on a personal level, but when it came to work, they were willing to put aside their differences and try and work together.

"One topic we never covered," Sandra began tentatively. "Kids."

Horatio nodded. He had to admit that had been on his mind a bit lately. "I'm open to them. You?"

"I'm kinda going with the idea of that I wouldn't object if we got lucky, but if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, well, it doesn't," she admitted.

"That's a good way to look at it," he said, taking a sip of his wine.

"Feel up to taking a weekend trip out to Chicago near the end of the month?" she asked.

"I thought you couldn't go back to Chicago because of the Program?" he asked.

"Technically I can't, which is why the trip would be very short, but there's something I need to do that I didn't get to do before I left."

"Okay."

"I need to say good-bye to Nana and let her know I'm okay."

"I can understand. Okay, we can do that."

"And, if you want, it's a short hop from Chicago to New York," she suggested.

He smiled at that, knowing what she was suggesting. He had told her about his mother and the fact that he still missed her. Sandra was offering him a chance to pay her a visit. "I appreciate the offer and I will certainly think about it, okay?"

"Fair enough. As for thinking about things," she began before leaning close and whispering, "I know of one or two _other_ things you could be thinking about."

"Yeah?" he whispered back, liking the look in his wife's eyes.

"Yeah," she whispered and then leaned even closer and told him _exactly _what she had in mind.

He nodded. "I like the sounds of that."

"Thought you might. Shall we?"

"We most certainly shall," he said. He caught the attention of their waiter and asked for the check.

The waiter shook his head and said, "Compliments of the house, sir. Congratulations on your wedding. The bottle of wine is yours."

Blushing, Sandra nodded and Horatio said thanks, then both she and Horatio got out of there.

When they finally got home, Horatio had a surprise waiting for Sandra. Before he'd left to pick up Kyle and head to the beach, he'd set out a few things. Memories of his abruptly-cut-off marriage to Marisol still haunting him, he had been determined to put Marisol aside and make the best of his marriage to Sandra, just as he had promised Marisol when he'd visited her grave a few days before the wedding, unbeknownst to Sandra.

He had set out a couple of white pillar candles scented with magnolia, jasmine, and honeysuckle, around the bedroom and had made the bed with special bridal satin sheets and pillowcases in ivory with a lightweight satin comforter and matching pillowshams in deep red. On the bedside table was a single red rose in a vase.

Blushing but hungry, Sandra excused herself and vanished into the bathroom to let down her hair and remove most of her make-up. As she did that, Horatio lit the candles in the bedroom, turned back the cover on the bed, and waited, his own hunger growing.

Then, just as he was removing his belt and loosening his shirt, she appeared, looking shy, innocent, and down-right sexy all at the same time. Her wedding dress was gone and in its place was a white satin chemise with black lace trim.

"You are _absolutely beautiful,_" he breathed, holding his hand out to her. She eagerly went to him and he enfolded her in his arms. "More importantly, my love, you are mine."

"Forever," she promised. "Whatever comes, whoever comes, I'll be right here, I promise. You won't be alone anymore."

"I'm not alone, not with you," he whispered just before he kissed her.

And one became two became three... and all thoughts of being alone were forgotten as they gave into their hunger and to each other. It was a long while before they finally fell asleep, nestled in each other's arms under the satin sheets, content in their love and in each other, with a cool breeze blowing gently through the bedroom.

_And somewhere, high, high above the stars, a child giggled._


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: **once again, thank you for your kind reviews and your patience.

**Chapter 41**

It had been nearly two weeks since Horatio and Sandra got married and for the second morning in a row Horatio watched as Sandra barely made it to the bathroom before losing what little breakfast she'd managed to eat.

As she retched over the toilet, he got a glass of cold water and a cold facecloth and pressed the cloth to her sweating forehead. When she finally stopped he wiped her mouth. She mumbled her thanks, breathing hard. He offered her the glass of water and she accepted it, using it to rinse her mouth out.

"This is the second time you've done this, sweetheart," he said gently. "You really should see a doctor."

"It's just a bad case of the stomach flu," she mumbled, leaning heavily against the cool toilet. He just looked at her in that oh-so-familiar way that told her he didn't believe her and it wasn't a subject he was going to give in on. "Okay, alright, I'll make an appointment with Dr. Stevens," she said, not really feeling up to arguing with him.

"Today," he said firmly.

"Today, I promise," she repeated. "Now, we both have to get ready for work and I need to find that ginger mint tea." With his help she managed to stand up and as she did, she muttered, "This is great, on top of the fact that I'm about two weeks late."

His brow furrowed. "Two weeks late?"

"Yeah, my cycle," she said, going to the sink to brush her teeth and take a mouthful of mouthwash. "Mind you, the damn thing is so erratic it's not funny so it could just be my system playing games with me again."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"No, I'm not but then again I'm so damn woozy right now I'm probably not thinking straight." She looked at him and shrugged. "Besides, we haven't been jumping each other long enough without the condoms for that to be happening just yet."

_I'm not so sure about that, _he thought as an old memory surfaced. His return from Brazil and their little shower hook-up... he could not honestly remember if they had used protection or not... and that had been over a month ago... and now Sandra was two weeks late and throwing up in the morning.

A tiny flutter of hope blossomed in his chest. Yes, he had Kyle but another child would be more than welcome. _More than welcome, _he thought. He watched as she finished brushing her teeth and reached for her women's multi-vitamin for her daily dose of vitamins. "You going to be okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I will be, I promise. Like I said, I'll call Dr. Stevens' office and arrange for an appointment as soon as possible."

"Good. Let me know when the appointment is," he said, rubbing her shoulder affectionately before going into the bedroom to get dressed for work.

She joined him a few minutes later, having put her make-up on and thrown her hair back into a reasonably stylish ponytail. In between nuking a cup of ginger mint tea and throwing it in a travel mug, she got dressed as well. Then both she and Horatio headed out the door on time.

As she promised, Sandra made an appointment with Dr. Stevens, who was able to squeeze her in for a quick fifteen-minute appointment in the afternoon, provided she showed up on time. That she promised to do and was there a few minutes early.

Once she explained the problem, the first thing Dr. Stevens asked her was, "Is there a possibility you might be pregnant?"

"I honestly don't know. My cycle is so erratic it's not funny," she admitted.

"Unpredictable cycle, hmm? When was the last time you had your period?"

She had to think about that for a minute. "Uh, mmm, I'd have to say well over a month ago. Thought it was just the stress and all that, especially since I just got married about two weeks ago."

"Okay, do you take vitamins, especially ones that contain folic acid?" he asked.

"Yeah, those One-A-Day women's multi's," she admitted. "More because of the iron content than anything else."

"Good. I'd like to check your pelvis area," he said.

She laid down on the examination table and he carefully pressed around the area of her uterus. "Alright, I'm not a hundred percent certain at this point but there is a possibility you could be pregnant, he said once he was done. "I'd like you to go in for a blood test to make certain."

"Sure. Where's the best place to do that?" she asked. He told her and she put the address in her Blackberry. "Would it be okay if I did a home pregnancy test?" she asked.

"Yes, in fact, I would encourage it," he said. "Have you and your husband discussed children?"

"It falls under the category of 'If it happens, it happens and we won't say no'," she said, grinning ruefully.

"Okay, because I need you to keep an open mind on that possibility," he cautioned her.

"It's open, it's open!"

On the way back to the store, she swung by a drug store and, on the advice of a pharmacist, picked up at least three different pregnancy tests. Then she took them back to the store and, in the back staff washroom, followed the directions in the boxes.

Unfortunately, before she could see the results, she got called away and promptly forgot about the tests. It wasn't until Tina, who had just been in the washroom, reminded her that they were there.

"What do they say?" she asked tentatively.

"They're yours?" Tina asked incredulously. Sandra nodded. "Well one of the, the First Response Gold one, I think, is saying 'Yes'. And the Clear Blue one, that's showing two lines. And the Walgreen's one, that's also showing two lines."

"Oh," was all Sandra could seem to say. "That means I'm... I'm... _oh boy_," she said as the room suddenly began to spin.

"Yipe!" Tina yelped, alerting the other girls to the problem. She grabbed Sandra and managed to get her to a chair before she fainted. "I think somebody had better call that hunk you call your hubby," she said.

"Okay," Sandra said faintly. One of the girls quickly grabbed a cup of water from the water cooler in the back and pressed it into Sandra's hands. She drank it automatically.

Realizing Sandra was not in any shape to call her husband, Tina snagged her Blackberry, looked up the number, and dialled Horatio's cell phone. He answered after the second ring. After she introduced herself, she said, "I think you'd better get down here, Mr. Caine, and take care of Sandra."

"Is she okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"I think she will be but I think she's going to have to start taking better care of herself," Tina said.

"I'm sorry?"

"She's got three preggy tests in the back and they're all saying the same thing; you two are going to have a baby," Tina said. There was silence on the other end of the phone for so long she was afraid he'd done something really stupid, like pass out. "Mr. Caine?" she asked. "Mr. Caine, are you okay?"

A moment later an unfamiliar female voice came on and said, "Horatio's okay, he just sat down rather abruptly."

"Oh, good. Listen, would you tell him to come and get Sandra, please? And if he has to, get someone to drive him over," Tina said.

"I'll do that. What did you tell him that made him do that?" the woman asked.

"Just that his wife's pregnant," Tina said.

There was shocked silence and then, with a grin evident in her voice, the woman said, "Well, _that_ explains that."


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: **once again I thank you for the kind reviews and your patience. In light of the season finale cliffhanger, I will be doing one more chapter and then I'm going to end this one for now. However, rest assured, once the new season starts, _Haven _will continue under the title of _Haven: Family Values_, I promise.

**Chapter 42**

When Tina had called him from Sandra's store to inform him about his wife's condition and problem, Horatio had been discussing DNA evidence with Natalia in the lab. He knew Tina was a nice girl but she had very little in the way of tact or, to quote her, she could be as blunt as a bull in a china shop when she chose to be.

"_She's got three preggy tests in the back and they're all saying the same thing; you two are going to have a baby_," had been Tina's exact, rather blunt, words.

For some reason the phrase "_you two are going to have a baby_" had hit him with the equivalent of a bomb to the chest. He hadn't been nearly as shocked when he'd found out the truth about Kyle Harmon as he had initially suspected the truth. It was like everything he'd always wanted, always dreamed for but never dared to hope for, was coming at him all at once and he was afraid to pinch himself because he was afraid that if he did, he would wake up and discover everything was a dream and his real life was not nearly as good.

He hadn't realized his knees had given out from under him until he felt the cool seat of one of the lab stools beneath him. Nor had he realized his fingers had gone numb until he saw Natalia gently take his phone and speak to Tina. He couldn't tell what she was saying because there was a roaring in his ears and his heart had apparently decided this was a good time to triple its speed.

"Horatio's okay, he just sat down rather abruptly," she said. She listened for a moment then said, "I'll do that. What did you tell him that made him do that?" A moment later, Natalia started grinning and said, "Well, _that_ explains that." She hung up and handed him his cell. "Well, congratulations are in order, _Daddy._"

He blinked at her, the roaring still in his ears. Just then Calleigh stuck her head in the lab and spotted the stunned look on her boss's face.

"Horatio?" she asked, concerned.

"He's okay," Natalia said, getting him a cup of water from the nearby sink and pressing it into his hands. "He just found out rather abruptly Sandra's pregnant."

Calleigh started grinning. "Sandra's pregnant? When is she due?"

"Don't know at this point but I'm taking a rough guess and saying it's going to be a winter baby," Natalia said.

Both women looked at Horatio, who still bore the stunned look on his face, and Calleigh asked, "Where is Sandra?"

"I'd say she's at work," Natalia said.

"Horatio," Calleigh said kindly, "would you like one of us to drive you over to Sandra's store?"

"Umm..." he began.

"C'mon, I'll drive," Calleigh said.

"Okay," he said, finally clueing in as to what was going on. "Ah, yes, I would appreciate that. Sandra took her truck to work today so she can drop me off."

"I'm wondering if we shouldn't swing by Starbucks and get you a French Roast coffee," Calleigh said.

Horatio managed to refrain from curling his lip up at the rather strong coffee. "Thank you, no. I'll settle for a Brazil Ipanema Bourbon," he said, referring to a mild coffee that had a nutty taste with coca undertones.

"What about Sandra?" Calleigh asked.

"She likes the Tazo hot tea called Passion," he said.

"Okay, we'll get her a cup of that and then you two do whatever it is married couples do when they find out they've got a baby on the way," Calleigh said kindly.

Horatio nodded and Calleigh gently lead him out the lab towards the parking lot. Watching the pair go by, Eric stuck his head in the lab and asked Natalia, "What's that all about?"

Natalia grinned at him. "Sandra's pregnant," she said. "Our boss is going to be a daddy again and this time he's going to get a chance to experience the whole thing."

Eric started grinning. "Sandra's pregnant?"

"Sandra's pregnant," Natalia said, still grinning.

"He's going to be a basket case, you know that, right?"

"And it's going to be so much fun watching him."


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N:** as I said previously, and I am sorry to say, this is the final chapter in _Haven_. However, once the series starts again in September, I will continue the saga with _Haven: Family Values_, I promise :D In the mean time, many, many thanks for your wonderful reviews and comments. laplandgurl, thank you for reminding me about Savannah, Madigan, and Sasha. Sasha, I'm not so sure about, but Savannah is definately going to be making a comeback in the near future. Keep an eye out for _Savannah: Daddy's Girl_ which may or may not have the cast of either CSI: Vegas _or _CSI: New York. Everyone else, again, many, many thanks for taking the time to read and review this story and offer suggestions. Brief note: the title, _Haven,_ according to my favorite dictionary website, means any place of shelter and safety, refuge or rest, also known as a sanctuary. This title came from the concept that both Horatio and Sandra would become a haven, a place of shelter and rest, both physical and emotional, to each other.

**Chapter 43**

Horatio arrived at Sandra's store, coffee and tea in hand, and Tina quickly directed him to the back. Sandra sat at her desk, trying to work on store reports and get her nerves back under control, when he carefully placed the cup of tea down in front of her. She looked at the cup, looked up at him, and smiled.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself," he said. "Am I to believe you're pregnant?" he asked, pulling up a chair to the desk.

"According to the three pregnancy tests in the washroom, one of which is super sensitive, yes, I am," she said, pulling the tea towards her and sniffing appreciatively; her favourite.

"And the doctor?"

"He said it was a very strong possibility due to the lateness of my cycle," she said. "I'm to go in for a blood test tomorrow but I think three pregnancy tests all saying the same thing pretty much confirms it."

"True." He reached up and gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear; she leaned into the touch eagerly. "How do you feel about this?" he asked.

"KInda split fifty-fifty," she admitted. "Scared shitless but excited as hell at the same time."

He smiled. "I can relate."

"I asked myself if we were ready," she admitted, "but then I remembered something Nana once told me."

"What's that?"

"She said I may not think I'm ready but I don't get to choose what I think I'm ready for or not; the Guy Upstairs does, and if He thinks I'm ready, then who am I to argue? Just knuckle down and face it head on."

"That is sound advice," he said.

"What about you?" she asked.

He had thought about that on the way over. "I'm ready," he said, "and I'm going to meet this head-on. Kyle is my son and I love him but I didn't get a chance to see him grow up, something that still bothers me greatly even though I understand the circumstances. I don't know what will come our way but I am very curious about this little one and I would very much like to meet him or her. That means," he continued as he drew her into his arms, "I will do whatever is necessary to ensure that happens. As for everything else, well, we just take it one day at a time."

"Sounds like a plan," she said, snuggling against him.

"_Game on._"

_Game on indeed._


End file.
